Cut and thrust...

Re: Cut and thrust...

feeds@yuku.com (jim3au) — Sat, 05 Apr 2008 02:35:31 GMT

In Australian politics [and I have no doubt in other places as well] it is standard practice to bad mouth the previous government. They really have no choice. A new government has to keep faith with its supporters. They can't turn around and say, "We can't improve anything." A new government wants to keep the honeymoon period going as long as possible and the only way to do that is to blame problems on the previous government.

The Governor of the Reserve Bank has...

Re: Cut and thrust...

feeds@yuku.com (skipper101) — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 22:47:58 GMT

And this is where the wheels fall off this thing. Does anyone remember when labor last had a policy.

Trashing the previous government for labors own mistakes and handing out welfair like candy, is only gonna fly so much.

Re: Cut and thrust...

feeds@yuku.com (jim3au) — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 00:03:36 GMT

In summary, we want and will have the two new battalions, no thanks to the poor planning of the previous administration. When the two new battalions are established, Labor should get the credit, especially if you are a voter in South Australia.

It happened before and it will happen again. New government comes in and blames all problems on the old government and the [poor old] public servants.

Personally, I would have reneged on the promised tax cut because of the parlous...

Re: Cut and thrust...

feeds@yuku.com (NewGolconda) — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 23:11:31 GMT

DEFENCE Minister Joel Fitzgibbon is scrambling to guarantee the future of Adelaide's new army battalion after uncovering a $700 million funding shortfall.

The Federal Government has uncovered yet another defence budget "black hole" and is reassessing plans to expand the army. Defence Minister Joel Fitzgibbon told The Advertiser detailed Budget papers showed the Howard government had underfunded the two new battalions to the tune of $700 million over 10 years.
The...

Re: Cut and thrust...

feeds@yuku.com (JBG) — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 12:49:42 GMT

Indeed Starviking, whether you are selling white goods or issuing restaurant liquor licences.

I must admit though with regard to some species of bean counters I take my natural lawyers' position that accountants were, at least in part, created to absolve lawyers of having to dirty their fingers with mundane financial mechanics. And so are tools, not sources of advice or insight!!

Jonathan

Re: Cut and thrust...

feeds@yuku.com (Starviking) — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 17:35:28 GMT

JBG wrote:
As a public servant I couldn't agree more. The cost of the process also works against any purported savings. A bunch of highly paid consultants will recommend staff cuts. Redundancies are offered but are often offered equally to all so the experienced old heads often take the money and run. The re-organisation of the new staff to keep doing the old jobs/tasks ( the consultants can't usually get rid of these )...

Re: Cut and thrust...

feeds@yuku.com (JBG) — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 23:51:21 GMT

CliffS wrote:

jim3au wrote:
I am always a little sad that someone can think that the public service is dumb enough to have a thousand staff sitting around doing nothing and if they are abolished things will go on the same excepting all that money will be saved.

Dead right, Jim. What do people think public servants do - lick stamps and make...

Re: Cut and thrust...

feeds@yuku.com (CliffS) — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 05:47:18 GMT

jim3au wrote:
The accusation of bad economic management has scarred the Labor Party. They have promised to be good and they are determined to do that.

John Howard has sensibly ensured that the cupboard is bare. The Labor people have to balance the budget. The tax cut, the one really big expenditure that would have affected interest rates is sacrosanct.The defence budget is so big and growing that it has to come in...

Re: Cut and thrust...

feeds@yuku.com (jim3au) — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 14:18:06 GMT

The accusation of bad economic management has scarred the Labor Party. They have promised to be good and they are determined to do that.

John Howard has sensibly ensured that the cupboard is bare. The Labor people have to balance the budget. The tax cut, the one really big expenditure that would have affected interest rates is sacrosanct.The defence budget is so big and growing that it has to come in for a look.

On top of that is the salutary lesson from the USA. Kevin...

Re: Cut and thrust...

feeds@yuku.com (sons of anzac) — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 10:45:57 GMT

Cant say we were not worried prior to the election and the potential of a con job on the electorate, well, it looks like it. The mantra of across the board cuts to govt spending seems to be beyond rhyme or reason. Got their fingers burnt with the cuts to carers but I cant see the mass media having an interest in cuts to the defence bureaucracy- I dont at all mind targeted cuts to defence bureaucracy areas that are not needed or not performing but it seems the ideology of cutting back the...

Re: Cut and thrust...

feeds@yuku.com (skipper101) — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 10:44:40 GMT

Well Im all for a third LHD / CVL but I think there figures are a little off, I don't think F 35 is anywere near 100 bil each. The Aussie Dollar is much stronger against the USD at the moment. but still.

Re: Cut and thrust...

feeds@yuku.com (jim3au) — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 10:44:12 GMT

I know how you feel NewGolconda, but I doubt that removing the pubic servants will make it more efficient. Maybe they need better strategies and maybe they do not. It is probably cheaper to just hand out money to uniformed personnel than it is to check where it is going. But the bad press is the problem then. Someone finds some waste and then decides that things need checking and that takes people.

Recruitment is an interesting problem and will be ongoing. The ADF has to be many...

Re: Cut and thrust...

feeds@yuku.com (NewGolconda) — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 05:45:12 GMT

This idea of savings on the civilian side funding hard end programes is an old one. But if you ask me, given the way a number of aquisition programmes have gone at present, (or recruitment for that matter) we could do with more, not less civilian side people.

I like the old Navy chiefs programme, with a CVL and a fourth DDG. To me, it seems highly dicey to build an amphibious task force without some sort of layered air defence. If its a choice between one or the other, better the...

Re: Cut and thrust...

feeds@yuku.com (jim3au) — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 02:16:54 GMT

The RAN had a carrier on their wish list.

Aircraft Carrier

The chances of them getting anything on the wish list diminish by the day but all that could change overnight. I would have thought that the idea of a carrier for the RAN was a little far fetched and just a bargaining gambit but the other ideas are conservative enough. They were not talking about an order...

Re: Cut and thrust...

feeds@yuku.com (CliffS) — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 02:15:28 GMT

jim3au wrote:
I am always a little sad that someone can think that the public service is dumb enough to have a thousand staff sitting around doing nothing and if they are abolished things will go on the same excepting all that money will be saved.

Dead right, Jim. What do people think public servants do - lick stamps and make coffee, perhaps? Multi-skilling and multi-tasking have been part of PS recruitment...

Re: Cut and thrust...

feeds@yuku.com (jim3au) — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 01:56:06 GMT

I am always a little sad that someone can think that the public service is dumb enough to have a thousand staff sitting around doing nothing and if they are abolished things will go on the same excepting all that money will be saved.

Re: Cut and thrust...

feeds@yuku.com (NewGolconda) — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 22:00:53 GMT

Defence cuts 'endanger 4th destroyer'
Font Size: Decrease Increase
Print Page: Print Mark Dodd
| March 24, 2008

THE Rudd Government's announcement that it intends to slash $10 billion in defence funding over the next decade has been condemned as sounding the death knell for the navy's fourth air warfare destroyer while jeopardising the project's economic benefits for South Australia.

The surprise budget cuts marked a return to the Labor...

Re: Cut and thrust...

feeds@yuku.com (CliffS) — Sun, 23 Mar 2008 14:54:20 GMT

Michael ODonnell wrote:
Nothing new here. About every 10 years, regardless of what side of politics is in, there seems to be a cull of defence-related jobs. Somebody notices the amount being spent on civilians working for Defence, and thinks "Hey, we can look like we are saving heaps of money by dumping a few thousand of these people, as they aren't really doing anything for the ADF". So there is a lot of funding...

Re: Cut and thrust...

feeds@yuku.com (Michael ODonnell) — Sun, 23 Mar 2008 05:54:22 GMT

Nothing new here. About every 10 years, regardless of what side of politics is in, there seems to be a cull of defence-related jobs. Somebody notices the amount being spent on civilians working for Defence, and thinks "Hey, we can look like we are saving heaps of money by dumping a few thousand of these people, as they aren't really doing anything for the ADF". So there is a lot of funding cut off, and several hundred or thousand jobs lost over the next few years. But slowly and...

Cut and thrust...

feeds@yuku.com (NewGolconda) — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 23:24:40 GMT

Defence ordered to slash $10bn