The 2012 Census shows that the Tuross Head had a population of 2,125. Of that number 1,125 persons were aged over 50 years old representing 52% of the town’s population. Indeed 36% of the population was over 60 years of age. Tuross Head had the oldest demographic than any other town in the Eurobodalla Shire. The Pension Assets Test is to be implemented on 1 January 2017 and is set to impact more than 320,000 Age Pensioners who will have their Age Pension entitlements cut. According to a report in SuperGuide at least 100,000 will lose all Age Pension entitlements, taking immediate effect from 1 January 2017. Superguide reports that the higher than predicted numbers is due to miscalculations by the government Aged voters at the next election might be about to make the greatest impact on any Federal election in history as they will be voting for their own livelihoods trying to safeguard their ever decreasing nest-eggs. Ignoring them now may be the start of a changed political environment in this country. A pension isn't an entitlement, however if the Government thinks it is - then their own pension needs to be fairly, equally and transparently dealt with. They keep telling us that paying us an aged pension isn't sustainable. Paying politicians all the perks they get is even less sustainable! The politicians themselves, in Canberra, brought it up, stating that the Age of Entitlements is over. Here are some proposals to make politicians shoulder their share of the weight now that the Age of Entitlement is over: 1. Scrap political pensions.Politicians can purchase their own retirement plan, just as most other working Australians are expected to do. 2. Retired politicians (past, present & future) participate in Centrelink. A Politician collects a substantial salary while in office but should receive no salary when they're out of office. Terminated politicians under 70 can go get a job or apply for Centrelink unemployment benefits like ordinary Australians.Terminated politicians under 70 can negotiate with Centrelink like the rest of the Australian people. 3. Funds already allocated to the Politicians' retirement fund be returned immediately to Consolidated Revenue.This money could be used to pay down debt they created which they expect us and our grandchildren to repay for them. 4. Politicians will no longer vote themselves a pay raise. Politicians pay will rise by the lower of, either the CPI or 3%.5. - Politicians lose their privileged health care system and participate in the same health care system as ordinary Australian people.i.e. - Politicians either pay for private cover from their own funds or accept ordinary Medicare. 6. Politicians must equally abide by all laws they impose on the Australian people. 7. Remove all the perks. The Australian people did not agree to provide perks to Politicians, that burden was thrust upon them. In 1901 they agreed to a simple allowance for members: "Until the Parliament otherwise provides, each senator and each member of the House of Representatives shall receive an allowance of four hundred pounds a year, to be reckoned from the day on which he takes his seat." Politicians have now devised all these extras to benefit themselves. Serving in Parliament is an honour not a career. The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators, so our politicians should serve their term(s), then go home and back to work. This is how you fix Parliament and help bring fairness back into this country!
Not happy Jan.. Name and address supplied
