Election Mythbusters

This Morning's Interviews With The Leaders

This morning we had both Tony Abbott and Julia Gillard on Sunrise. And it went just as we expected. Despite our best attempts to control it, they still couldn't help getting in their little criticisms of each other rather than answer our questions.
Overall we just got more of the campaign script that we'll hear over and over in the coming weeks. A few points to come out of it though:
- Tony Abbott absolutely adamant that he won't be resurrecting work choices. Despite conflicting comments from his team, it looks like he's realised the slip up in giving it any light of day and wants us to know its "dead, buried and cremated". Which he told us about 6 times.
- I still don't buy his claim that by being elected, he'll bring interest rates down. The simple fact is: prime ministers don't bring down interest rates. The Reserve Bank handles interest rates, and its dependant on lots of global economic factors.

 

Election 2010: Let The Games (And The Crap) Begin

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And so it begins…

t;p>Election 2010 has a date and it’s only a few weeks away. In the lead up to August 21 there’s going to be a hell of a lot of crap flying through the media as the two parties try and bring the other down.

 

Election-date image: usefulart.com.au

It’s only been two days since the date was set and already we can see that it’s going to be an ugly affair. A campaign of negative slurring rather than positive promoting,

My mission here at the Kochie blog, and on Sunrise, is to sort the fact from the fiction. I’ll use the site to tell it how it is, to provide the facts without bias and without the grey fog which surrounds all political debate.

It’ll be the truth, the whole truth and nothing but.

There was a great response to previous blogs of mine on mining tax figures and asylum seekers because they cut out the lies and got to the facts. Well that’s what you can expect from the Kochie Blog leading up to August 21.

The Canberra media rat pack expects everyday Aussies to understand everything they talk about. But the reality is we don’t live and breathe politics like they do. We have more important things to think about, like our own lives, our families, our work.

So I invite you dear friends, to use this site as your go-to point when you want some info and analysis that you can understand. Throughout the lead-up to the election, if there’s anything you’re baffled about, missed out on, or want explained, just shoot me an email. I’ll find the answer. In my book there is now such thing as a stupid question.

For example, you may ask “how can Tony Abbott say he will bring down interest rates if he wins the election?”

My answer would be, “he can’t and it’s absolute crap for any politician to promise to bring down interest rates.”


   

The Real Benefits For Asylum Seekers In Australia

My blog last week about the politicisation of Asylum seekers and refugees prompted quite a bit of reaction and I promised a number of readers that I’d do some research on the actual financial assistance they receive.

There are so many misleading rumours and “facts” around at the moment regarding asylum seekers and the benefits they get from the government.

One hoax email in particular is doing the rounds telling people that “illegal immigrants/refugees” receive thousands more in welfare payments than Australian pensioners.

Emails like this are completely fabricated and made up purely to conjure up negative sentiment towards asylum seekers.

death_in_sri_lanka20091102Photo: IndyMedia.ord


If you’ve received an email which looks like this you should delete it, tell whoever sent it to you that they’re an idiot, and learn the facts…

  • First of all, refugees are not illegal immigrants. It has never been illegal in Australia to arrive on shore without a visa seeking asylum. In fact it’s one of the rights within the UN’s declarations on refugees which Australia helped to write.

  • When an asylum seeker arrives in Australia, they do not get any Centrelink benefits. While their status is being processed, and if they meet certain criteria, they can be eligible for financial support from the Asylum Seeker Assistance Scheme, administered through the Red Cross. This amount is 89% of the basic Centrelink allowance. This means approximately $405.84 per fortnight – over $260 less than a pensioner.
  • Once an asylum seeker is recognised as a genuine refugee, after a long and highly scrutinized process, they are given permanent residency and are then entitled to the same Centrelink, schooling and health benefits as anyone else. No more, no less.

   

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