The natives are revolting - 14th May 2014

Whilst watching the highlights of Smokin' Joe's first budget I couldn't help but think about the French Revolution. I'm not sure how much Tony Abbot and Joe Hockey know about history and a little known event around 1789 where it didn't end well for the "government" of the day when the poor decided to revolt against their lot in life while the rich enjoyed the spoils.

Sound familiar? Not much has changed since hey?

Mean spirited. Missed opportunities. Disappointing. Bereft of ideas. More words that came to mind while watching a government floundering with an ideological pursuit of reducing a deficit that in all honesty was growing out of control. But targeting the poor, the sick, the frail? Aren't we supposed to look after these people in our community? I just do not get it.

Think about these examples. A mother has just had her Family Tax Benefit Part B slashed under the new income rules. She decides to go back to work but faces a cost of about $95 per day in child care costs. She also faces an increased cost in getting to and from work with petrol price increases. Petrol price increases every six months. The first thing she is going to ask for is a pay rise which will probably get her sacked and on the dole queue. If she's under 30 she'll have to wait six months to get Government income support but if she's over 50 all of a sudden she'll be more valuable to employ as her new employer will get a Government handout.

The $7 co payment will hit the poor and sick hard. And something really needs to be done about those pesky repeat scripts that clog up waiting rooms just for a piece of paper that will now cost to get.

If all Australians are being asked to share the budget burden why did big business dodge a bullet? Why not ease back the fuel rebate they receive once their turnover reaches a certain level $50m? $100m? The Government took $486m out of the mining sector and whilst that sounds like a big number, in the context of abolishing the Mining Tax and the Carbon Tax, it's not.

And don't get me started on the multinationals that set up their headquarters in the Cayman Islands, suck all the profits they make in Australia and the rest of the world back to a tax free environment. Hit these guys with a turnover tax, they will pass it on but at least we collect taxes on Australian sourced revenue.

Where are the measures for the environment? Seriously nothing? Why not start by exempting from fringe benefits tax Australian made hybrid cars? The flow on effects could actually boost the local car economy, perish the thought.

And they have not addressed the tricky area of tax free superannuation for the rich. The millions of tax free income sheltered from tax, year in year out.

Mean spirited. Missed opportunities. Disappointing. Bereft of ideas. If you really wanted to address a growing budget deficit, there are so many areas that could be reviewed, and it would not cause the pain to ordinary Australians on shrinking incomes.

As one comedian once said "The natives are revolting...".