The changes to assessable income to provide better access to the youth allowance, for example, have come too late to help yours truly. Unless I can claim a slice for the grandlings.
And don’t start me on those well-dressed individuals in the National Farmers Federation working themselves into lather over their white papers and the like across the years.
Well, at the old Whacker’s, farm I know what we do with white paper, which is far less messy than newspaper. I reckon I would just be happy if someone could explain to me what a white paper is all about, other than as a public service excuse for not getting very much done.
Yes, we have been thrown a few bones in some bloody small tax breaks – assuming we actually made any money on which to be taxed.
And after the recent floods, any drought relief might come in handy, ’cos sure as eggs are breakfast, that’s what’s coming next.
Either way, you still need to survive if you survive until the middle of the year after the problem, and then hang on for 12 months more when the support finally arrives in your bank account.
And getting back to that old assumption factor, that’s assuming the current bunch of boofheads will be in government. Because if a new lot get in between now and then that’s likely to disappear as fast as the super bounty.
In my email (and you thought I was a techno dinosaur) I get regular messages from assorted ‘agri-leaders’ who seem to think I give a toss for what they have to say.
Take the NFF and our looming Budget in Canberra.
In its wisdom our peak industry body is focused on its “ambitious-but-achievable target for Australian agriculture to be a $100 billion industry by 2030 – a vision shared by industry and Government”.
To meet this target, the NFF says agriculture must work with the Federal Government to ensure public policy settings, investments and initiatives address the opportunities and challenges outlined in its vision.
Call me old fashioned, but I always thought it was government’s job to work with me – after all, I’m the one paying the taxes.
Instead of being a $100 billion industry, I’d rather hear what the government’s going to do to help me and my neighbours get there.
After all, assorted governments gave billions and billions of taxpayer dollars to help the motor industry disappear.
The government has rubber stamped us shipping all our iron ore, and gas, for example, offshore so we can buy it back at higher prices instead of having a processing/manufacturing sector of any note.
Given half a chance you can only worry what it might really do to agriculture given half a chance – and half a chance is all a pack of halfwits need.
After the last Budget, and most of the ones before that, not one bloke I bumped into grabbed me by both shoulders and wanted to sashay around the room with delight.
No-one has called me and said “Whacker, old chap, what brilliant news”. Nope, most were back in tractor cabins seeding or spraying – and the real farmers were still working with their cattle.
The sun went down and came up again and bugger all had changed.
As for all the carry-on about improving terms of trade being driven by Canberra. Pfft. I think you’ll find the only reason our terms of trade might be improving is the pollies have messed up the economy here so badly our dollar has collapsed.
So people won’t be shopping here because of anything the Budget does, they will be shopping here because it’s dirt cheap. But for those dirt farmers it cuts both ways.
While people might be buying our grain etc, when the cockies go to purchase some big-ticket item, such as a header, that will be done in Yankee dollars. Which means any extra money made at harvest will be blown on the capital expenditure side of the ledger as the price of machinery goes through the roof.
Don’t hear any politicians putting their hands up to claim that one.
If one more agri-politician tells me the government “recognises the agriculture sector is a source of economic strength, linked to growing appetites for safe, clean and sustainable Aussie produce in key Asian markets” I reckon I’ll puke.
Our market is fast becoming the dumping ground for all things foreign, cheap and nasty and/or left over. Take that Treasurer and see what you squeeze out.
I don’t want white papers, all I want is a level playing field for marketing (fat chance if we are relying on a government there) and a bit of protection from all those North American, European and Asian products which are over-subsidised and over here.
And I bet none of that is covered in the next Budget, not even in the columns of fine print.
So let me thank you in advance Treasurer – thanks for nothing.
