Vinny van Gogh

Have to agree with that, after 18 years trading as a limited company,I am near completion in shutting it down. Apart from the UK trading nose-diving into the deck, I was paying out more for accountants, employee's wages and taxes and running costs, than I was getting out myself.
I know somebody working for the commonwealth Bank and he is content with the terms and condidtion he signed up for.

Most of the whinging about this ( thought that was a pom only thing!) seems to be about loss of overtime and having to be more flexible.
I am not and never have been a union fan, if the employer is that bad..find another job. If the aussies dont like the Howard plan, vote him out and vote in the guy who says he will turn it around to status quo. My bet is it wont happen.

Job applicants will have been told the terms and conditions and will accept or look elsewhere, likewise anybody in a job that seems to be de-rated will look for another job.
The report confirms that the bank have a fairly high staff turnover as it is.

Hands up any pom who will ignore the Howard plan fallout and take virtually any half decent paying job if the wait for a visa was removed.... it will be a long queue to stand in. (...apologioes for a minor rant....)

Amazulu

Sure, but the amount of contractors is growing all the time, both here & in the UK. In my industry nearly everyone is a contractor & that's the way I like it.
The other point is that taxation is being reduced in Australia but is increasing in the UK & will continue to do so under comrade Brown.

DrWho

Good point.

ozzieeagle

I sense that these Howards IR reforms are probably the only way I would probably manage to get a Job when Aust Post fulltimers all receive their Redundancy Packages in the next 4-7 years. I also realise that most full time Government jobs would have gone by then regardless of who was in power.

Therefore for me at least I think they are personally beneficial...

And I hate myself for thinking like a selfish rightwing b....dard.


Wonder what the cure is.


Ahaaa

Good for me, Good for the Country, not so good for my kids.

Wol

I believe the technical term for this is "Not paying your taxes" <g>

Wol

>>The other point is that taxation is being reduced in Australia but is increasing in the UK & will continue to do so under comrade Brown.<<

Comrade Brown's plan is nakedly apparent: to tax everyone 100% and then hand out a little bit of pocket money to the grateful masses to live on.

You think I'm joking?

MartinLuther

Spot on. I was working with loads of contractors when the IR35 rules were brought in. It's funny that they would come to me whinging about it until I commented "so the government is trying to make you pay the same amount of tax as the rest of us - oh they're real b*stards".

MartinLuther

And with the Brits being benefit junkies he's got a fair chance of success

Amazulu

True, but Australia is also awash with nanny state benefits, tax allowances & credits, child benefits etc.

MartinLuther

It's not the number of benefits, it's who gets the benefits, and the expectation of getting a benefit. Just look at the number of Brits who bemoan the loss of child benefits and aged pension in Aus just because their income is too high.

My impression is that the Aus benefits are (generally) more targeted whereas the UK ones are more universal. (I can quite believe that there are exceptions to this rule.)

As to which country is the bigger nanny state then I would say that the UK is slightly ahead - although from the stuff I've read on here I can see why people in other states may get a different impression.

Amazulu

Tax credits & allowances, child & other benefits are maintained to appease groups of people whom the government needs to get re-elected. This happens in the UK & Australia & many other countries too.
It's a terribly inefficient system but will never change for the above reason.

Swerv-o

Oh I believe you - I think that comrade Brown is on a personal crusade to tax the UK to death, and he makes no bones about it either.

I think the departure of Mr Blair will see the end for New Labour, and a probable return to the spending, taxing and borrowing Labour of old.

Interesting times.

S

Mid Lifer.

I'm new to this Australian politics but how come Howard is in when every state is controlled by Labour?.Do the Labour voters only come out on state elections or what?Or is there some sort of dodgy counting process in Federal elections like in Howards hero's Florida?

spalen

There are many answers to this, but I believe the primary answer is Beazley is an unelectable buffoon.

People vote for who they like and trust to run the country - policies I believe are a secondary concern for the vast majority. Ask the populace to name more than 3 policies of either side and they'd struggle.( i include myself in this )

BadgeIsBack

I'd expect some people to vote different in local politics too.