DIVERT, DEFLECT, DENY: PM DODGES QUESTION AFFECTING OVER 65s
As usual, Question Time was actually the 'PM evades answering everyday Aussies' show rather than a serious Parliamentary process.
I asked a question posed by so many of you, and specifically by Ross who's wife Cynthia is recovering from breast cancer and will be directly negatively impacted when it comes to the availability of her care as a result of the slashing of rebates for over 65s with private health insurance.
Thank you to Paul Murray LIVE for covering the PMs evasion so eloquently.
This is a serious concern with serious consequences not only for those over 65 who are already forced to choose between insurances and everyday essentials, but for the public health system. The PM chose to play semantics rather than acknowledge the very real concern.
How can anyone trust this Government to do the right thing if they are unwilling to answer basic questions?
#LaborLies #PMfail #agistagenda #dodgethequestion
See here for my article on the knock-on effects of higher costs for over 65s patconaghan.com.au/rebate-cut-reeks-havoc-on-older-regional-residents/
This will just push more people away from private health insurance and onto the public waiting list. Absolutely disgraceful 😤 and cost shifting from Commonwealth Govt to the States.
As council rates increase above inflation, and rebates are removed, pensioners will have to either find the money or prioritise health over rates. That or put extra pressure on the health system where there is already pressure on the public system.
The nodding heads just like the plastic dogs in the car Nodding nodding nodding!
Has he lost it or is he going potty
Lucky to be able to afford it…
Dodge ball champ at it again !!
Be upfront with the people we have a choice to make here think most of us will give up health insurance
He has no idea what's going on.
I will be dropping my private health insurance, just not affordable any more. I’ll let the public system take the load.
The confusing thing is the wording. Rebate will be REDUCED for over 65s not REMOVED in total. The Rebate LEVEL will match under 65s
I didn't realise that the last election was a choice between Dutton and Dutton!
Gas tax 35%
Im 64 and now cutting back AHM.
Legacy continues…ja da la….
I am 79, I have had private health since I was 19 years old, I have seen every rise in premiums up until today. If and I say if we lose the rebate I will join the lines at the public hospitals
Sky spew. Where the truth comes to die
So where's the money 💰 not in australia 🤔
So the news is the truth? What did the government actually say? I am 73 and mine will go up by about $240 bringing my reduction in line with my children. Do not have a problem.
What about the disabled who are now turning 65, are they getting kicked off NDIS too ( apparently they are being told to get on My Age Care but many cannot afford the co-payment required for supports they need which they are already getting from NDIS with no co-payment. Any wonder many are considering applying for Voluntary Assisted Dying.
Another lie ? Is it or isn’t it going to happen ?
Noelleen Smith Lindsay King Colin Dauncey Aaron Wilcox
Another lie oh my what would we do without our daily lie ?
WELL DESERVED RECOGNITION: CONGRATULATIONS, EMMA!
A huge congratulations to St Paul's College Kempsey Year 12 student Emma M., who received a Bronze Commendation from the Governor of New South Wales at Government House over the weekend.
Emma was named one of six finalists for the prestigious Governor's Sword of Honour for Excellence, recognizing the top cadet in the No. 3 Wing Australian Air Force Cadets (AAFC).
Thank you for representing the Macleay Valley with pride, Emma. I look forward to seeing you continue to achieve great things!
#YoungLeader #RegionalRepresentation #stpaulscollegekempsey #studentsuccess #macleaypride
Well done Emma. Our world is in good hands with young people like her. ❤️🇦🇺✈️
Congratulations Emma. 312 Sqn appreciates everything you do, and we're so proud of your achievements.
Congratulations
CELEBRATING OUR SES LEGENDS: NORTH EASTERN ZONE AWARDS CEREMONY
Earlier this month I had the privilege of attending the North Eastern Zone Awards Ceremony in Coffs Harbour.
Nearly 50 dedicated SES members were recognised on the day, with hundreds of years of combined service between them.
Every time I attend these events and hear the stories of individual acts of courage and kindness from our local SES team members, I'm in awe. Our communities are so lucky to have each and every first responder living amongst us. Individuals who put their bodies and minds on the line to come to our aid in times of crisis. They are a special breed and we owe them our thanks every day, not just on these awards days.
Congratulations to everyone who was recognised this month. Every award was so well deserved.
#NSWSES #LocalLegend #recognitionofservice #CommunityLeaders #thankyouforyourservice
What would we do without the SES Pat? They are out in force when needed during storms, floods and fires.
Australians didn’t vote for these, but Labor are delivering them anyway.
Toxic taxes are not the answer to our economic challenges.
I feel sick watching our country go down the gurgler. What can we do to stop it? Keep fighting for us Pat.
🙄
I voted for a party who would act in the best interest of Australia and Australians and I will vote for the ALP again. The Nats are once again trying to be more Pauline than centrist. Shame
Well some of us have had about enough of we can take of NP and Libs hence the huge swing that went to Labor
I'd still vote for the changes
Ah yes. The good old 'toxic tax'. You had to drag that shit out again.
How do we sack the government?
He's CHAMP. I won't spell it out.! Use your imagination. A.A. has no idea!
And a minimum 30% Tax on everything.
Because the filthy rich need protection. Give us a break. The LNP have got nothing else. ON is wiping the floor with them because the LNP have nothing. Imagine the embarrassment ON having more credibility in the eyes of the voter. Meanwhile Labor just go about the business of running a country which is still one of the best to live in the world.
Hey Pat. Care to comment on your colleague Bridget Mackenzie getting caught rorting travel expenses yet again?
Wow, Pat you have stooped to a new low, telling blatant lies. There is no death tax. Why should hard working wage earners pay more tax then those businesses that hide their money in family trusts, purely to avoid tax. Taxing family trusts is not a death tax. This new policy to make family trusts pay their fair share of tax will not affect most Kempsey people.
Fk I hate Labor
More hyperbole, misrepresentation and misinformation.
Hitlers right hand man.
Suck it up Pat, if the LNP did not go woke with lefty policies maybe you mat have been the Government.
I'm worried for our country, as its being totally destroyed by this Government and they dont care one bit. Perhaps the nation has to go on strike for a day and see what happens.
Complete bullshit, Pat.
BOWRAVILLE MOBILE OFFICE: SHOUT OUT TO OUR FIRE AND RESCUE TEAM
Great to see so many Bowraville locals at Bowra Hotel for my mobile office today.
Thank you to everyone who took the time to come and speak to me.
Special mention to the local Fire and Rescue NSW team, who were taking a quick break from their recruitment drive. Bowraville Station is looking for 4 new team members to add to their roster. Are you interested? Get in touch with the team today!
careers.fire.nsw.gov.au/jobs/search/search-page-regional-north
Thank you to all members of our RFS and Fire and Rescue teams for everything you do for our communities 🙏
Great to see recruitment being made a priority for rural communities!!
Great to see the Firies turning out for you Pat.
Pat, just asking you have you noticed a lot of old diseases coming into the country atm, deptheria polio hepatitis ect. Immigration not checking whats spreading !
A SCARY BEDTIME STORY: A SMALL BUSINESS REALITY
Meet Tom. Tom works as a mid-level public servant in Canberra. Tom gets paid $150,000 pa, gets 4 weeks of paid annual leave plus public holidays, accrues long service leave and gets generous sick leave.
After tax at around 27%, Tom takes home $110,000 a year. He also receives $23,000 in super due to his generous Government rate of 15.4%.
Tom works from home 3 out of 5 days, never risks a cent of his own money and gets paid like clockwork every fortnight.
Tom never has to worry about cashflow or manage employees. Tom has never created a job or employed anyone himself. Tom’s productivity is hard to measure but he assures us it definitely went up since working from home.
Now, meet Richard.
Richard runs a small local business. He has been running it for 10 years and employs 20 staff. He doesn’t pay himself super because he puts every spare cent back into the business. He took home about $50k a year for those 10 years and put every spare $$ back into his business.
He gets no paid holidays or sick pay. He worries every Monday about how he will meet payroll to pay his staff.
He goes looking for new customers every day. Chasing invoice payment is a 7 day a week worry, but he is pretty good at running the business.
He’s getting on and decides it’s time to sell the business and get paid back for all his time, work, worry and risk. After all, he doesn’t have Super because he’s been investing it in his business.
He sells the business for $3,000,000.
And his reward from the Government for providing his community with a service, training and employing staff and taking on the risks associated with that is a tax bill at the top rate of 47% on his sale with no ability to access a Capital Gains Tax discount.
At the end of the ten years, Tom has been able to amass more personal wealth than Richard.
In Australia today as a direct result of Government policies, the moral of the story is that it doesn’t pay to take risks and work hard.
What happened to being the lucky country, where if you work hard and give back to your community you get rewarded?
👏 👏 👏 Finally someone who gets it! Maybe add that some small businesses don’t actually get anything when they sell 😢 This is the harsh reality of small business, it’s hard, it’s not pretty, it’s not paid well and if we do get a holiday we are working on the holiday or stressing about work. I would not recommend anyone to start a small business, it’s not what you think it will be but at the same time, it’s rewarding just not with money 🤣
Don’t let the facts get in the way of a good story
Tom will probably get a bridge named after him for all of his service to the public, he may even take up another cushy public post after retirement because he feels he has more to give…
So what are is the Nats policy? Going by Timmy's NPC performance today, the coalition's fiscal policy is very light on details.
The small biz owner would almost certainly qualify for small business CGT concessions which are still being retained. Can you provide any guidance on this? Otherwise this post could be seen as exceptionally misleading Pat Conaghan.
Might add that Tom is one of 360,000 public servant employees. A sector that increases by 3.3% every year faster then population growth 🤷♀️
The problem with this story is that it frames “Tom vs Richard” as though one person is morally responsible for the other’s outcome. Tom didn’t create the tax code, and there’s nothing wrong with choosing a stable salaried job with leave and super. Most people would take good conditions if offered them. Richard also made a voluntary choice of entrepreneurship, accepted risk, reinvested profits instead of paying himself super, and concentrated his wealth in a single illiquid asset. It can pay off enormously, but it can also fail. That is the nature of owning a business.
What was the original purchase price of the business? How much of the $3 million sale price is actual capital gain versus goodwill or assets? Was the business structure a company, trust, sole trader, or partnership? Does Richard qualify for the small business CGT concessions? Has the writer ignored the 50% Active Asset Reduction? Would Richard potentially pay little or no CGT under the Small Business Retirement Exemption? Is the example assuming Richard gets taxed on the full $3 million rather than only the gain? Did Richard own the business for more than 15 years and is he over 55? If so, could the 15-year exemption apply? How much tax did the business already pay over those 10 years? Did Richard claim deductions over the years by reinvesting profits into the business? Is the comparison ignoring that Tom pays income tax every single year while Richard is building equity in an asset? Is the example comparing guaranteed salaried income with entrepreneurial upside unfairly? If Richard only paid himself $50k for 10 years, was that a business choice rather than government policy? What was the actual annual growth in business value? How much super would Richard have accumulated if he had contributed even modest amounts over 10 years? Did Richard own commercial property inside the business that also increased in value? Is the business debt-free at sale, or are loans still outstanding? Are retained earnings, plant, stock, and goodwill being separated properly for tax purposes? Is the example assuming the entire sale is taxed at the top marginal rate in one year? Has the Medicare levy been included correctly? Is Richard eligible to spread contributions into super using CGT cap concessions? Did Richard benefit from company tax rates lower than personal income tax rates during operation? How many small business owners actually sell for $3 million after starting with almost nothing? Is Tom’s “wealth” calculation including home ownership, super growth, leave entitlements, and job security? What is the risk-adjusted return comparison between stable public employment and running a business? Would Richard have preferred the certainty of Tom’s income during downturns, COVID, or recessions? How many businesses fail entirely and never reach a $3 million exit? Is the story comparing average outcomes or best-case entrepreneurial outcomes? If Richard sold shares in a company rather than assets, would the tax treatment differ? Is the post confusing revenue, profit, asset value, and taxable gain?
It's interesting that people can dismiss it as just a 'choice' & a 'fairytale' starting a small business. These people take risks to start small businesses, risking their own money, even mortgaging their homes at times, may go on to employ people, be involved with other small businesses e.g. couriers, growers if it's a food business. They have no guarantees, they just work long hours to make it a success, nor do they have paid sick leave, no annual leave, unlike the bureaucrat/public servant example, who btw is paid using our tax dollars. So yes, it is a choice, but without such 'choices' & people Australia would not be what it is today.
Cool story, but it needs more dragons! Richard clearly chose the wrong business! That’s on him! He should have got better qualifications or opened a plumbing business, then he would be on closer to $250k/yr. Tom’s pay suggests he’s an EL1. That’s not mid level and usually requires a relevant degree (engineering, lawyer, accountant, project manager) and the ability to manage a team. As managers, hardly any EL1s would work from home 3 days a week, as they are supposed to be managing their team; maybe 1 day is more common. Sure, your aunt’s cousin is a public servant and only works 5 hours a day, but then so do some business owners. Public servants also don’t charge $180 to arrive at your front door.
That business scenario is a poor example lol
After 10yrs Tom has about 350k in super, Richard gets just over 1.5m. Ofcourse Tom would have an investment property or two because he isn't a risk taker.
So if Richard: * owned the business for 15+ years, * was over 55 and retiring, * met the turnover/net asset tests, he may pay little or no CGT. Even without the 15-year exemption, many small business owners would still pay far less than 47%.
100%, well said Pat!
Brilliant storey to illustrate how small business is being driven out of business!
Been this way for a while, someone's gain, is another's loss!!🤔🤷♂️
You nailed it. CGT should be a flat tax — just like super contributions are taxed at 15%. And frankly, that makes little sense too. Super contributions are still earnings tied to salary, yet they get a concessional flat rate, while capital gains are left exposed to whatever political agenda is fashionable at the time. In the US, long-term capital gains are generally taxed at a flat 20%, so people can actually plan ahead. If you invest for 20 years, you know roughly what the tax outcome will be. Here, the government of the day can suddenly decide investors are “too rich” and change the rules overnight. That’s exactly what Labor is now doing with superannuation — effectively saying you’ve saved “too much” for retirement, so now they want a bigger slice. Since when should government decide how much someone “needs” to retire on after decades of work and sacrifice? How is anyone supposed to plan even 3 years ahead between changing governments, or even 12 months ahead between Federal Budgets? Australia needs a complete overhaul of the tax system — modernise it, simplify it, and make it predictable. Shift it more toward consumption taxes and a lower, flatter income tax. People who spend more will naturally pay more anyway. A broad-based consumption model with moderate flat taxes would be far fairer and far more transparent than the constantly shifting mess we have now.
The reward you get for creating employment!
💯 👏
The lucky country is just about completely rooted .
A very stark and real comparison Pat. This Government has taken away any aspirations for Australians to succeed in their chosen field.
I would find it hard to believe that the poor hard working business owner has not put his expenses through the business and not had to pay tax on those.
If your business is worth 3 million, your profit should be around 800+ k a year , why not run it for a couple years and you'd be ahead of the public servant in a couple years ?
True and very well said.
