Tax the miners before the poor

Peter Rosier writes: Re. “Bill Shorten’s magic pudding” (yesterday). Abbott’s comment that “there is no crisis” because in three years the states’ budgets will suffer a huge cut in funds received from the feds seems a little at odds with his much repeated claim that there’s a budget emergency (because in 20 years’ time all the oldies will be soaking up the bucks) that needs emergency and prompt action.

Fixing up the budget, John Shailer doesn’t require the financial emasculation of the poor in our society. For instance, as solutions we could give up the idea of abolishing the carbon tax and decide to beef up the mining tax (after all, we are about to see the miners move from development to production when the hootch is actually made).

Richard Davoren writes: John Shailer wrote: “By rejecting key savings measures in the budget, Bill Shorten has condemned the next generation to repay Labor’s debt of $667 billion, over $110,000 per household.” Seems to me that Shalier has the same focus as the government: the poor, the elderly, the sick, the young and the disabled as the only source of revenue.

Is this the best that one of the richest countries in the world can do? Strip the needy and fatten the rich? It is not for me to list the potential sources of revenue open to the government, which includes tapping the tax avoiders, clawing back middle-class welfare, getting a fair return on our huge resource base. Read any news source, other than perhaps News Corp, and abundant alternative sources of revenue are readily explained and costed.

Hockey and his colleagues were smirking while delivering a ruthless and unequal burden upon our most vulnerable. Dancing and smoking cigars, and of course the fat lady was singing. It was an “up yours” budget that hit out at the very people who put their trust in them.

Budget smears a dirty Labor tactic

Brad Rowswell, media adviser to Senator Michael Ronaldson, writes: Re. “Military pension anger” (yesterday). Labor — the party without a policy for veterans’ affairs at the 2013 federal election — is peddling untruths about the federal budget in an attempt to hide their past negligence.

The Abbott government recognises the unique nature of military service and remains committed to supporting veterans and their families.

The budget fulfils the Abbott government’s commitment to fund indexation for military superannuants aged 55 and over under the Defence Force Retirement Benefits Scheme (DFRB) and the Defence Force Retirement and Death Benefits (DFRDB) Scheme by the better of movements in the Consumer Price Index (CPI), the Pensioner Beneficiary Living Cost Index (PBLCI) and Male Total Average Weekly Earnings (MTAWE) from July 1, 2014.  This provisions will also extend to reversionary (widow) pensioners aged 55 and over. What we promised to military superannuants has now been delivered.