POLITICAL POINT-SCORING
Neil Prakash, infamous ISIS terrorist fighter, mouthpiece, and suspected planner of at least two terrorist attacks on Australian soil, was born in Australia of a Cambodian mother and Fijian father.I believe no sane person would ever want this individual or any other ISIS fighter to ever set foot on Australian soil.
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Surely it would be wise to try every possible way to prevent this from happening, including removing Australian citizenship if it exists.
Clearly Labor doesn’t agree. Instead of acting constructively, it has whipped out its megaphone to irresponsibly lampoon Peter Dutton’s efforts to stop this terrorist’s return, simply to make his job more difficult and score a couple of cheap political hits.
Richard Burnett, Wollongong
PROMOTION OF INEQUALITY
Some decades ago, as a worker, like thousands of others was a member of the NSW government employee’s superannuation fund: obligatory super payments were deducted from my salary each fortnight and invested on my behalf; mainly on the stock exchange.
The gross earnings of the fund were influenced by the Australian economy.
A fierce recession could possibly see a retiree’s super payment reduced by 50 per cent.
Subsequently, retirement dates (members were eligible to retire after 40 years’ service) were skewed towards times of economic growth.
Now here is some very important information: in times of recession it was not only government institutions that suffered; ninety per cent of the damage fell on the shoulders of private companies, in the past unemployment surged when affected companies collapsed through unsecure financial assets.
The conservative solution: federal and state governments providing taxpayer funds as an income base for private companies – privatisation.
The privatised Sydney Desalination Plant is a good example, the government’s fifty-year contractual arrangements provide the lessees a, recession proof, income of $534,000 a day – $194.5million per annum.
To illustrate, one lessee, Ontario Teachers` Pension Plan has a $61.4 billion fixed income.
According to the OTPP website income is broken up into three categories, members contributions 10 per cent, government employer contributions 11 per cent and net investment income – 79 per cent.
The 21 per cent members and government contributions is the old system of superannuation funds by in-house funds management investment.
However, 33 per cent (61.4 billion) of the nett investment income is fixed.
The Ontario Teachers` Pension Plan has done nothing wrong – they have abided by the laws of privatisation – a conservative world conspiracy to flood the corporate world with taxpayer’s money – a promotion of inequality.
John Macleod, Berry
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