They were the good days - when one could have listed all her disasters
Julie Gillard - don't go to the West, Julie - don't
go!
Remember the classis comedy track that I have bastardised
above? Wayne and Shuster's Rinse the blood of my
toga.
Now The Australian warns the PM in front page headline 6/1
Gillard's broken trust with the West: Barnett.
As if her major disasters listed briefly by Barnett were
not bad enough: the woman has apparently created a newy: ''her
withdrawal from an in - principle agreement to help states pay native title
settlements.''
And their defacto Marxist named super profits tax -
rebadged in typical socialist fashion as a rent tax?
Barnet ''accused Wayne Swan of seeking to control the
state's mining industry ....''
There is no room on the page for a remotely accurate
representation of their well over 100 catastrophes and mere disasters this mob
of incompetents manage with vainglorious pride in long ago having taken away
Gough Whitlam's title of being the worst government in history.
Months ago one would venture only the moniker of 'recent
times'.
They were the good days - when one could have listed them
all!
Geoff Seidner
13 Alston Grove
East St Kilda 3183
03 9525 9299
..............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
Gillard's broken trust with the West: Colin Barnett
- The Australian
- January 06, 2012
Mr Barnett, whom the latest Newspoll survey confirms as the nation's most dominant premier, said he had lost all trust in the federal government after disputes over health reform, the mining tax, GST distributions and, most recently, the funding of native title claims. He accused Wayne Swan of seeking to control the state's mining industry through the treatment of royalties under the minerals resource rent tax, and said the new low in the relationship would "further undermine" the Council of Australian Governments process.
The Liberal Premier yesterday described the federal Labor government's withdrawal from an in-principle agreement to help states pay native title settlements as the most disappointing act by a prime minister in his 21 years in politics.
He said it had left Western Australia about $200 million out of pocket for agreements settled so far, was likely to reduce the size of future agreements and would drag out the time it took to reach settlements.
Mr Barnett said the decision was morally indefensible and represented a turning point in a relationship under severe strain.
"Basically, you have got a situation now where I don't trust the commonwealth," he told The Australian. "That's a dreadful thing to say, but I don't. That was born out of the health approach, the mining tax and now this."
The Prime Minister told Mr Barnett in a letter eight months ago that she had no obligation to commit to pay 75 per cent of all native title settlements between the West Australian government and Aborigines.
The offer was first made by Paul Keating to then premier Richard Court in 1994.
Later, and before an arrangement was formalised, John Howard told Mr Court he wanted to alter the terms of the deal to make it "more generous". No deal had been finalised when Kevin Rudd came to power in 2007.
The Australian has been told state Attorney-General Christian Porter tried for much of last year to persuade federal Labor to change its position, but realised last month that the commonwealth had no intention of budging.
It is understood Ms Gillard has made her position on the matter clear to all states, but the decision has caused particular angst in Western Australia, where 910,000sq km of land is under native title claim. "Where is the morality of that position?" Mr Barnett asked yesterday.
"There is certainly a moral and a political obligation and I would have thought an obligation to Aboriginal Australians.
"To simply walk away from it has disappointed me more than any other act by a prime minister in my political life."
Mr Barnett said he could not understand how federal Labor could talk about closing the gap between black and white Australia while refusing to do something practical that would contribute millions of dollars to the benefit of indigenous people.
Ms Gillard's office was last night preparing a response to Mr Barnett's comments. Last month, a spokesman for the Prime Minister said the commonwealth would consider future assistance to states and territories for native title agreements on a case-by-case basis. He said the states and territories - "in particular the West Australian government" - had not accepted previous commonwealth offers to contribute to native title compensation costs.
The latest Newspoll survey, conducted exclusively for The Australian, found support for Mr Barnett and his government rose in the past three months, with the Coalition leading Labor 59 per cent to 41 per cent, based on preference flows at the last election.
Mr Barnett's satisfaction rating rose seven points to 58 per cent in the three months to December, with his lead over Opposition Leader Eric Ripper stretching to 41 points on the question of who would be a better premier.
Federal polling by Newspoll, published last week, shows Labor and Ms Gillard remain deeply unpopular in Western Australia, despite an improvement in the past three months.
Mr Barnett said his state, whose reserves of resources such as iron ore and natural gas underpinned the federal budget, deserved respect on the national stage.
"Everyone says mining's making so much money. Well, yes, some companies are. But I've got to say I think there's an element of envy there, and that's disturbing," he said.
"I think there's an element of envy within the Australian public saying, 'Why should Western Australia and Queensland have this wealth? We'll have it, the resources belong to us'.
"They don't legally, and there's an element of politics driven by envy and that's a bad way of going about national policy."
Mr Barnett said the fight over the MRRT, which is due to be introduced from July 1, was about control. Under the terms of the MRRT, the commonwealth will collect the tax from mining companies and use it to refund royalties due to the states.
The Treasurer, who last night dismissed Mr Barnett's claims about a bid by Canberra for control of Western Australia's resources as "absurd", has threatened to cut infrastructure funding or GST distribution to any state that increases royalties.
Western Australia claims it does not receive enough in GST payments, with forecasts its share of every dollar it is owed on a per capita basis will continue to fall from the current level of 72c as the resources boom continues.
"Swan will say, 'We'll collect and we'll refund all your royalties'. I don't trust them," Mr Barnett said. "This is not about taxing; this has been about control of the mining industry. They want to take it over. It's all about power.
"A dollar from mining royalties is worth more than a dollar of commonwealth payments to the state, because it's a dollar we can guarantee, a dollar we can control."
Mr Barnett said the state's share of commonwealth grants and GST could fall to less than 50c in the dollar in coming years.
"At that stage, commonwealth-state financial relations basically become defunct from a state point of view," he said.
A spokesman for Mr Swan last night attacked Mr Barnett's claim that the MRRT was about taking control of the mining industry.
"That's absurd. This is about ensuring all Australians get their share of the mining boom," he said. "All Australians own these resources and they only get dug up once. We need to ensure everyone benefits from these resources, not just a handful of highly profitable mining companies."
The spokesman said funding from the MRRT would help West Australian companies and individuals by delivering tax breaks for small businesses, increases in retirement savings and a boost for superannuation for low-income earners.
"Even in WA there are many businesses facing challenges flowing from the mining boom which will be assisted by the MRRT," he said. "The industry itself has agreed the MRRT is necessary because royalties - which Mr Barnett has raised - punish smaller miners.
"State-based royalties slug miners no matter their size with a tax the moment the resource is dug out of the ground."
............................................................................................................................................................Rinse the Blood Off My Toga - Tripod
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