Environment
GREENS SCRAP DEATH TAX: Former leader Bob Brown blames VEXNEWS for the need to dump “estate tax” policy
The Greens party just had a secret conference and axed the vast majority of its party platform to avoid scrutiny and criticism. One of their proposals, for a death tax, was removed quietly, prompting concern from leftist elements within the ultra-leftist party. They report former leader Bob Brown blaming VEXNEWS coverage as a reason they needed to dump the unpopular policy.
The Greens political party conducts its conferences in secret, without journalists or members of the public permitted to observe or report on its activities. It is the only party represented in an Australian parliament that is so secretive.
As a result, it’s often only via blogs and leaks that its private deliberations are reported at all. (Although The Australian reported on their public announcement here)
It’s a scandalous situation and one that we believe ought to be addressed by law-makers, so that parties in receipt of massive amounts of taxpayer monies ought be required to have the party policy conferences observed by the public that puts up the money. It’s the least they can do.
Anyway, it seems that the Greens political party busied themselves dumping several policies for which they had been previously criticised. Sadly, that didn’t include their policy to maintain the biggest possible incentive for desperate asylum seekers to endure a cruel trial by ordeal where they attempt to cross dangerous seas because Christine Milne offers them a visa on the other side. It’s breathtakingly bad, but they’ve kept that policy, despite hundreds of deaths by drowning at sea.
But, it’s not all bad news. It appears the coverage by VEXNEWS has been specifically referred to by former Greens party leader Bob Brown as the reason why they ought to ditch an “estate tax.”
VEXNEWS’ fair and balanced report on their death tax policy during 2010 appears to have disturbed them.
So much so that according to a Greens party blog “Blunt Shovels” we were cited as a reason to ditch the nasty death tax plan:
Beyond just the complete change in rhetoric from Dr Brown, several sources, who attended the Conference, relayed that Dr Brown had cited that redoubtable bastion of news, Andrew Landeryou, as a reason to move away from the policy on inheritance tax.
Some Federal MPs and State delegates described the need to change the policy in terms of minimising future attacks on the Greens economic policies, well before the next election. However, there are few public attacks on this part of the Greens policy platform from 2010.
There was, of course, from VEXNEWS. It was a sufficient worry for them to ditch it.
It’s not the first time the cynical Greens political party have ditched their lefty policies in the face of criticism, Victorian Labor’s accountability campaign in the Albert Park by-election prompted the Greens to ditch their outrageous policy to shut selective government schools like Melbourne High.
We just we’d been more successful in encouraging Greens politicians to stop drawing asylum-seekers to their death with permanent residency as an incentive to risk drowning. We just wish we’d been able to discourage them from voting with the Liberals to maintain a system that’s costing lives, hundreds of them.
We’ll take the death tax win. And thank Bob Brown for the love. But only when the Greens party go the way of the extremist parties that litter Australian history, like One Nation, the Communist party etc., will victory be achieved.
UPDATE: There’s a rising tide of bitterness and division in the Greens political party about what some members describe as “veering to the right.” An interesting take on it is here.
UPDATE: It all sits rather strangely with the odious South Australian Senator Sarah Hanson-Young’s declaration this week:
“Sam Dastyari did say in his interview … that there’s a difference between the Greens’ values and the Labor values and that’s right: the Greens have values and the Labor party doesn’t,” she said.
It seems what the Greens value – just like the cynical politicians they are – is getting elected. Everything else is negotiable.
Indeed, it could be profitable.
Discussion
Comments are disallowed for this post.
Categories
VEXNEWS QRCode Information
Go VEXNEWS.Stick it up the GREENS.
They were once a joke,but now a serious threat.
I spit on the Greens. Vermin, the lot of them
Keep the pressure up to those loony Greens, Mr. Landeryou. The Australian voting public need to know how obnoxious they really are. Too bad, the fair and balanced Fairfax media and, of course, “their” ABC are not in the business of investigative reporting. Something about “in the public interest” escapes them. Competent research cannot be undertaken, of course, because of their diligent reliance on copy/paste press releases and adherence to the Group-think code.
It’s a pity many in the alp won’t take them one. Surrender monkeys the left. Listening to the metal workers suggesting we have to take back those inner city votes of the greens makes me sick. What’ s happened to representing those people who are members of the union! They don’t live in the inner city I guess.
ALP 15% primary vote – oh dear!
WA gone, Victoria gone, NSW gone, QLD gone, NT nearly gone will be next time, SA gone next time, ACT gone next time and Tasmania gone next time.
Now for the Commonwealth with a primary vote of 15% the Senate also gone big time and the ‘Pardy’ barely holding Party status.
The Victorian state seat of Melbourne proudly won by the Greens comfortable, no wonder Coke Bottle Glasses Andrews does not want Gillard anywhere near Melbourne in the next week, poor zero personality Kanis is back to take Away Chef.
What is even more telling is the huge loss again in members failing to rejoin the ALP this year.
Oh dear and they are concerned about the Greens!!!
Couldn’t they just declare themselves illegal?
Very good work Andy. The Greens actually take notice of what you write & say
The Greens are the best thing that has happened for the Liberals and the worst thing that has happened to Labor. Thanks Bob and Christine.
Is Bob crook and maybe Paul is worried about his inheritance?
Get a family size box of pop-coen and put on your nuclear sunglasses.
This implosion is gonna be noice.
Apologies to Jewish readers.
That should read “pop-corn”
I suppose as Bob Brown approaches his later years I can understand why he would be worried about it applying on his death. That little wooden cottage in the country in Tasmania must be worth a fortune.
Another tax that needs to be removed is the 45% tax on payouts from trustees set up for relatives before a person dies. It was designed to catch dodgy people but it now has caught up every Australian who are a potential beneficiary of trust funds.
I do love a stroll in Catani Gardens – always a good excuse to pop into the public lavatory for a spot of dogging with another likely lad.
Why is an inheritance tax so bad?
It seems quite sensible to me …
“The Greens policy which Bob Brown described as too vulnerable to “fear tactics” was to tax inheritances over $5 million, excluding family homes, farms, and small businesses. Not many Australians have a lazy $5 million lying around. Even if the Greens had left owner-occupied buildings in the mix, their policy would have covered just 1 per cent of households – about 90,000 of them.
The Henry Review found an inheritance tax would not only tick the ”fair and efficient” box, but would also have the unusual quality of bringing in a revenue stream that would rise as Australia’s population ages, predicting that bequests would grow from $22 billion in 2010 to $85 billion in 2030. That feature could come in handy given that we’re yet to figure out how to meet the rising costs of an ageing population in what’s now one of the lowest-taxed countries in the developed world.
If a policy that is quite clearly in the interests of 99 per cent of Australians is considered too tough for even the Greens to tackle, what other sensible ideas are doomed to languish on the benches?”
Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/politics/ideas-worth-playing-for-20120713-22101.html#ixzz20aAiTGdP
Why are people getting so hot n bothered over it?
You fools.
Don’t blame the greens. The ALP is to blame as they gave the greens legitimacy and when you do that to scum you end up in the gutter with them. We are watching the death of the left.
If it was a real marriage, the domestic abuse people would have been all over it.
“they are going to throw a bucket of dirt at us, because a bucket of dirt is all Labor has got” Adam Bandt misrepresenting the relationship again.
Please help keep this question in the top 3 for the PM to answer on July 21.
http://oursay.org/s/1p1
Every person gets seven votes.The question is not just about about a tax on Carbon – it is about the trade off between the trust placed in a Prime Minister by her constituents and her personal political gain. It is about having used up valued political capital and then ever more desperately (and expensively) trying to win it back from a community that is no longer listening.
Anyone who votes green has an identity crisis and is void of any common sense.
Ideology only lasts while the bong is working or while you are biting the pillow awaiting the point.
Andrew – you will have to stop people using my name again (14 Jul 12, 17:26) as that not me. Perhaps it is one of the faceless man in a political party.
Speaking if faces – what wrong with Christine Milne’s face? She looks like she has caught the Tasmanian Devil facial cancer. We all know she has lost some weight but would that affect her face so?
Speaking of female leaders we all know that all is lost for Labour when they install a female leader (anon, 13 Jul 12, 20:27). Lawrence, Kirner, Bligh, the one in the NT (forgotten her name), Keneally, Gillard, Perhaps SA should give it a try too.
That said I think the attack on the Greens Party by both the Labour and Liberal parties will increase the voter of the Greens as both major parties are to shallow and trivia focused.
Yes, how dare the Greens steal Labor’s policy of grovelling to the rich? Maybe one of them is going to work for James “working class hero” Packer, alongside Karl Bitar and Mark Arbib.
sticks and stones Chris. How are they extremist again? Are you too thick to discuss actual policy? Seems you are. …continue with the insults then…
Jealousy and stupidity. Hallmarks of supporters of the greens. So you got used by the ALP. it’s all over next year kids, if not sooner.
Andrew L and vexnews are heroes.
They were the first to plead for putting Greens LAST and definitely beneath either ALP or Liberal preferences.
John Nemesh in Marrickville March 2011 followed his lead and plastered the electorate with corflutes urging LIBERALS to preference the TOXIC GREENS LAST, whilst preferencing LABOR above the GREENS.
Enough Liberal voters did that and from a 5000 vote deficit, the Greens and Fiona Byrne lost their unloseable election by 632 votes.
Carmel Tebbit, former Deputy premier , and Left Labor wife to Anthony Albanese lived to fight another 4 years.
All this was in the face of Greens ugly thuggery, intimidation, antisemitism and general racism….which proved their undoing.
When Bob Brown had Nemesh charged for not mentioning the printer on his corflutes, (whilst Milne did the same but obviously not charged by their own ilk), none of the Greens could ever have expected the degree of backlash they would suffer, by Vexnews , Sun Herald, The Australian, and Sunday Telegraph.
It is time for the nasty Rhiannon and Hanson rock spider Greens to be exposed to daylight and pay.
Is this site supposed to be satirical? Poe’s law applies. I like political satire, but you seem to be missing the comical aspect of it…
Andrew – my comment dated 15 Jul 12 is still with the moderator !!!
There will be no inheritance tax applied to the Labor cause that has been reduced to a bad logo.
the next generation of Laborites will safely inherit 30% primary vote and bugger all seats.
The membership has collapsed with genuine members leaving just the well stacked rank…of the once mighty rank and file.
A byelection by definition is a zoo where the animals are in charge.
Every looney politcal outfit can be expected to turn up. The Liberals stayed away from this animal kingdom. Pity it is missing a stubborn ass.
Mayne is a giraffe – lanky but out of place everywhere.
Oke – is like Kimba – an uncrowned king. Naive but expectant.
Kanis – is a deer being lead to the slaughter by a pack of cheeful hyenas (Labor Unity).
Hopefully they give her a plum super job like the other poor left labor Deer that was chased out of Melbourne by the Federal Chimp of Melbourne.
Fiona of the Sex Party – is not stereotype cougar, more a panther both sleek and effective – a night time predator who may not deliver for her cause appears to sure as hell deliver for Labor!
The anarchist ape, a deep thinker to be sure, sits quietly in the corner and is happy to pick nits from the other animals.
The polls are clear – the winner seems certian to be the lion cub with the golden main!!
But will a last minute sprint by the sleek panther spur the hapless deer over the line?
Kanis is a joke, if that is the best they can up with it is really quite sad. She has all all the appeal, charisma and personality of a dog stool.
So you saying dr moon face oke is a greenies Megan Gale!
Oke is more a mouse…never heard anything from her on Melbourne City Council. Will be as impactful in state seat.
Not sure about all this extreme talk – more extremely dull.
Is the Victorian Greens just become an external faction of the Labor party for Anglos?
Sure feels like it.
Bottle deposit scheme is not really nationalising the banks.
Some time ago Vic Labor gave up on Labor brand with its pround blue and red.
Smarty pants at head office good a branch stacking but bad at communications.
Vic Labor now muddy red.
In safe Labor seats migrants could not recognise the Burmby how to vote. Big swings against Labor there too.
Some Labor voters took the Liberal ticket.
Now Labor is divorcing the Greens.
Greens are laughing and taking inner city seat.
Labor’s head office are fighting back with a new brand that is completely see through – the true colors of the branch staking rule twisting Labor elite – nothing, zero.
Hence forth a serious of invisible candidates like Kanis will stand up for no policy and zero values with a proud color of nothing.
The invisible leader will win the 2014 election state eection.
Labor will fade its way back into power… with the clear promise that labor stands for less than the confused Liberals.
A legitimate defensive voting tactic is to vote for do nothing stand for nothing types. Labor.
In theory this is Ok.
In practice with both Parties dependent on corporate funding at some point the wolves eventually get their way with the sheep.
Lately Labor is not merely happy to be s sleeping shepard but some Ministers happy to slit the throats of the flock to make the wolves’ job easier.
Breaking Australian Labour standards with guest worker scams for mining barons and cutting single parent benefits are all signs we no longer have a Labor Government.
Labor Ministers calling unions a narrow interest group. Looking after the rent seekers of resource industry and attacking workers. The sheppards have joined the wolves.
Clearly voting labor is a form of self harm for most of us.
Next election I will be voting ’1 Landeryou’. Like this website it will definately NOT be a completely wasteful and meaningless gesture. Not at all. It will be a victimless crime. And after many years of voting SHEEDY it is time I made a change to someone who stands a better chance.
Meanwhile at a centrelink office in the western burbs Julia is getting tough time….
So let’s get this straight you were married to this bob fellow many years your senior?
Julia: No, were we not married it was more an arrangement. Marriage is a sacred instiution between a man and a woman.
Not married? Was it a civil union?
Julia: Most of the time. It had its moments.
And I see you have one adopted child called Carbon Tax.
Julia: Yes but he not biologically related to me or Labor.
Has this Bob sent any child support payments since leave your shared house in canberra?
Julia: No. Just this blonde bxxxh who is trying to take an inner seat that rightfully belongs to Carbon Tax.
No postcards?
Julia: Only a Green How to Vote card. Does that count?
There is no doubt Ms Julia that you are entitled to a benefit based on the abandonment by this Bob fellow and the fact your now have a hungry little mouth to feed.
How much does it cost to care for the nipper?
Julia: Not much really. Only about 1% of GDP.
The only issue is that as a beneficiary of the most generous pension scheme in the country I cannot offer you any more government help.
Julia: Give us a break. I just told you this snotty nosed Carbon Tax kid will consume 1% of GDP every year.
But Ms Julia Iunderstand your feelings of abandonment but I also note that the country will be paying that 1% from now to kingdom come.
Sure glad my kids will not be slugged death duties on the home the bank ia about to sell from under me.
Labor and Greens are a sick joke. Asian countries are giving tax breaks to get car industry jobs.
We are driving them away with carbon tax and no real industry policy for nation.
OK … fair enough … I will concede that Greens policies on legalising drugs, defence, agriculture, immigration, asylum seekers, education and health ARE extremist.
But some of the others aren’t too bad.
Asian countries also pay car industry workers peanuts
Dear anonymous
What a typical yuppie and borderline racist comment.
Having an advanced manufacturing sector is priority for US, Germany and Japan where auto workers paid and trained better than in OZ.
Asia has low, middle and high wage rates.
The future of Aussie workforce needs more than the 1% of the labour market required by the mining industry and a the occasional baby sitter for you subaru driving s greenies and a pool guy for you careerist volvo driving labor/union fatcat hacks.
Grow a brain you morons and don’t just throw away whole advanced industries because you have never known a factory worker or think engineering is dull.
Lawyers, out-of-touch ACTU types and teachers dominate Federal politics and it shows.
The policies will be back as soon as their fortunes improve
The Greens are a bunch of wankers who mix with other wankers, ie: The ALP. Actually, while I am on it, all politicians of all parties are wankers.Therefore, if you belong to a political party then you are just the other hand they use to make it feel like it’s someone else.
A sad day, comrades. The Greens are becoming too bourgeous.