The value of buying private health insurance if you don't earn above the threshold where the surcharge kicks in is debatable.
Here's an article about some of the maths involved in paying insurance, and what's advantageous in certain circumstances.
https://www.choice.com.au/money/insurance/health/articles/how-to-pay-the-lifetime-health-cover-loading-and-save
Thanks MisterHorsey! Has really opened my eyes as to what is not publicised!
No worries. Even Failfax press recently did an article on some of the hidden surprises of private health insurance.
http://www.smh.com.au/money/planning/is-private-health-insurance-worth-it-20170831-gy7uvq.html
Appreciate your contributions misterhorsey, but that's a silly swipe that doesn't belong here.
It was a 'swipe', yes. And it was 'silly', indeed.
But it's not without reason.
The aforementioned news publishing company misjudged the disrupted advent of the interwebs very badly - as many incumbent news orgs did across the world - and as a result is struggling. The Sydney Morning Herald was my beloved quality broadsheet when I was growing up. I'm afraid it is no more. The Age in my adopted home seemed to be marginally better, but I wouldn't say that anymore.
A vibrant democracy needs a robust press to critique power and keep it accountable, to provide a public record, to report the news but also provide a forum for critical and often uncomfortable debate. I don't believe Fairfax Media Limited are providing it. There are a few bright sparks remaining that I admire (Ross Gittins, John Silvester, Ruby Hamad, Nicole Pederson McKinnon in particular are worth a read). However, it seems to me that the online versions pander to celebrity gossip click bait, middle class status anxieties (private schools, fine dining), diet and nutrition neuroses, Apple product launches and of course Real Estate - home renos and all manner of real estate investment pumping. It's like Buzz Feed for anxious, aspirational, materialistic, high consumption bourgeoisie. I did have a friend who worked on their online section - they do actively court clickthroughs on the online version, which at time was run separately from the print version. So maybe us online readers who aren't willing to pay for anything are to blame?
Either way, it's not the fault of the journos, but management. You can't provide quality and comprehensive news coverage, opinion and analysis if you keep on sacking everyone.
I don't necessarily endorse MEAA's strategy, but their campaign page on Fairfax cuts is an interesting take on the decline of some once venerable mastheads.
https://www.meaa.org/campaigns/fair-go-fairfax/I don't know what a sustainable commercial strategy is to provide decent quality coverage of local and national events. There are better out there that come to mind (The Guardian (Aus + UK), Washington Post) and there are worse (Daily Mail), but it's sad to see once quality print journalism in Australia engage in a race to the bottom. It's not going to work.
Thanks for the opportunity to explain myself. Anyway, totally off topic. I shall say no more.