Hello All,
I expect the L-NP to support business against the working class ( in this instance people who are payed a wage or salary, and are therefore classed as employees ) , however, as Don Dunstan makes clear, the ALP ( whose total membership equals just over 2% of total Trade Union membership ) has followed a neo liberal policy platform for decades now, and has consistently failed to protect the working class from the rapaciousness of business and finance.
I am a supporter of Industry Super Funds
in principle, as they were supposed to work like the old Commonwealth and State Superannuation Trustee Funds, which invested conservatively and with the goal of long term stability and consistent returns, which, in the main they achieved.
I well remember an interview on This Day Tonight with Peter Coachman, two conservatively dressed xWW2 veterans and RSL members who were from the Commonwealth Superannuation Board ( their lapel badges were a giveaway ! ) and a fashionably dressed executive from National Mutual Life.
The NML bloke raved on about their great returns over the last few years which, he claimed, demonstrated NML's superior financial management skills.
One of the CSB men responded that we at the CSB have to manage for the long term for our members who cannot afford for us to endanger their long term financial security. He then added that the CSB had averaged a long term return of 9% over the last 20 years , and asked the NML person to advise what their return over the same period was ? The NML person did not know. From my perspective that little encounter spoke volumes.
The Banking and Insurance Royal Commission currently underway has clearly demonstrated that these once respected institutions have deliberately and consistently followed practice of stripping their clients funds an average of around 20% per annum in various fees and charges, some of which related to the provision of no service at all.
( Today on the ABC News, the AMP Trustee Chairman ( the Trustees are supposed to protect the interest of the customer ) is reported as saying it was the fault of the investor in AMP Cash Superannuation that their returns were negative, and actually reduced their base capital. According to the RC Counsel, it was actually preferable to have banked the cash with the AMP Bank, and thereby receive a small return, than it was to invest in AMP Superannuation. )
To compound this our so called Regulators also deliberately pursued a policy of little or no prosecution for criminal activity , instead relying upon, but rarely enforcing, statutory undertakings. All in all, our Commonwealth Parliament and Governments over the last 30+ years has clearly been far more interested in looking after the corporates at the expense of the working class, small business, and the family farmers.
On this basis, as Don Dunstan points out, why should working people vote for the ALP ? The current L-NP is avowedly anti working class, and the ALP , who claim to look after working Australians, has a track record which clearly indicates otherwise , and in Bill Shorten, they have a leader whose own track record as a Union Secretary in at least some instances, leaves a lot to be desired.
On a related matter, it is also interesting that two CFMEU Delegates have endured the wrath of the Federal Court with individual fines approaching the $Million mark, yet in the same week, NT WorkSafe have been exposed as not being interested in prosecuting companies whose employees have been killed at work. ( This failing is not restricted to NT. ) Clearly, companies profits have a priority over workplace safety and the deaths of employees.
With the benefit of hindsight, it is clear that Don Dunstan's last comment about the ALP's free kick to the Sydney finance sector , which continues to rip of the low paid, is correct. Has the ALP indicated what it will do to rectify this ? At this stage , NO . And if asked, I predict the response will be to wait on the reception of the Royal Commission Report, which will then be studied in detail, etc. Which means in practice a wait of at least another 2 or more years before action, if any, will be undertaken. Then add to that, stakeholder consultation and response ( employees are not stakeholders , only beneficiaries ) will take another 2 years ,by which time most people, including MPs will forget about it, and still nothing substantial will take place. ( I sincerely hope I am wrong on this. )
It is interesting that the widely admired Warren Buffet has also pursued a long term strategy of achieving consistent returns by ensuring that management teams concentrate on long term value and returns , apparently based on an early 1920s textbook relating to financial management of utilities.
Regards, Radioman.