The $250k comment was truly astonishing. Doubly so since it came from a Labor politician.
Debate in Australia is a farce. Everyone is outraged at everything and no government is allowed to introduce any tough but necessary policy change because the media will always find 1 person who is negatively effected.
This is before industries (mining, tobacco, Clubs/pokies, Super) start with their bullshit advertising campaigns pretending to be on the side of the battlers.
Miners: "We kept Australia strong and growing through the GFC"
Reality: Mining employs less than 3% of the population, and contributes less than 10% to Oz GDP
Tobacco: "Nanny State, Nanny State, Nanny State, Nanny State, Nanny State, Nanny State...you are stealing our intellectual property by introducing plain packaging laws"
Reality: silence is deafening now the laws are in place.
Clubs: We provide millions of dollars of support to grassroots sports and local community organisations.
Reality: Less than 2% of profits made from registered clubs is donated to community organisations. Australians collectively lose $30billion to the gambling industry each year ($2k for every adult).
Super industry: "taxing super is the same as the theft going on in Cyprus"
Reality: 32% of tax concessions go to the wealthiest 10% of the population. The lowest 10% get -.2% (They pay extra tax!) Those who get the most concessions would probably save for retirement outside of Super anyway. They don't need a tax incentive.
And all of this leads to spooked politicians to say utterly stupid things like what Joel Fitzgibbon said. The best responses are naturally on twitter with people sarcastically saying they need the $250k to pay for private school for 3 kids, 2 new 4WDs each year, a sparkling new boat and the wife's handbag fetish, not to mention the 900,000 mortgage for the McMansion out at Kellyville.
I'm over it, I've had enough of the whinging. We are worse than the poms now and that is saying something. Aussies. You are a bunch of pansies and you need a punch in the face. You are the richest people in the world and you need a 6 month sabbatical in Ethiopia to realise how good you've got it.
/end rant