What will the  Abbott austerity program consist of?

Maybe the Libbos on this forum have some inside information
on what we should expect under an Abbott government?

Will we look like Greece as per this picture of riots?

Where's the austerity. Spending is up.

Grappler Deep State Feller wrote on Feb 9^th, 2015 at 10:58pm:


That may be so but there is little similarity to European style austerity and the current government. Since individual European nations within the Eurozone are not sovereign in their own currencies their use of monetary policy is restricted. They rely heavily on fiscal policy leading to reductions in government spending in order to retire debt. That is quite different to the local practice here where monetary policy plays a major role in the money supply. Fiscal policy here has been expansionary. At the micro level it is the policies that suck but austerity is a poor description.

crocodile wrote on Feb 9^th, 2015 at 10:13pm:



Plan is to reduce disposable incomes of the peasants - discussion taking place over a fine champagne and a few canape`s prior to an expensive dinner to restore the politicians after such strenuous work. All laid on out of the taxpayer's purse to get this noble work done.  Then a free ride to first class accommodation and a night's sleep aided by as much good booze as can be bought for $300.... a night...

red baron wrote on Feb 10^th, 2015 at 6:21pm:



No way - the Libbos go after the most disadvantaged people with the least money ones that don't typically vote for them.

ELIGIBILITY for the Disability Support Pension would be dramatically tightened and government payments simplified into five streams under a blueprint for the biggest welfare overhaul in a generation.

A report into the welfare system by a panel headed by community sector reformer Patrick McClure focuses on increasing the workforce participation of welfare recipients but recommends people who receive social security be no worse off under the new system.

The current system of 20 payments and 55 supplements would be simplified to five payments and four supplements. But young ­people would not become eligible for welfare payments until they reached 22.

Under the report’s recommendations, the DSP would become a “supported living pension” and unemployment benefits would be changed into a three-level “working-age payment” based on the recipient’s capacity to work.

The supported living pension would be available for people with a disability and an assessed work capacity of fewer than eight hours a week. But they would qualify only if the incapacity was expected to last for at least five years instead of two under the current DSP rules.

Those with greater capacity to work would be moved to the tiered working-age payment, with higher payments rates for more disabled recipients at levels above the current Newstart rate.