There has been much discussion lately about the new payments to families with children and new babies, including debate amongst the various political parties.

If you were running this country (if you were Prime Minister), what policies would you bring in that you think would most benefit families with young children ???

Hello childcare being tax deductible.

Hello the ending of mandatory detention, as I really am not keen on my children growing up in a country that is condemned by Amnesty and is basically breaking international law.

Hello signing the Keoto treaty, as I think having a sustainable environment is probably fairly important to families too.

Cheers

Di

Di van Dulken
Mummy to Adara Madeline

12/2/03
Click here for pics

A policy of telling the truth, the PM doesn't have one and I think lying repeatedly is a bad example to children.

Tax deductible childcare.

Stop big subsidies to big business eg. the sugar industry

Withdraw from Iraq and consider our dealings with Israel and the USA. Stop making our children terrorism targets.

Remove children from detention and stop mandatory detention of asylum seekers.

Find the dollars to fund health and education as easily as the $$millions to fund defence have been found.

Just for a start...


Lex 23/01/03 Baz 30/11/98

all of the above...

and most importantly....


'I would like to acknowledge the past and apologise on behalf of prior Governments for the theft, dispossession, stealing of children, loss of culture and kinship of the Indigenous population of Australia'

hmmm I'd like to see that.



Jude 13.5.03

- Cut our Defence and Border Control budget, including the abolition of our Off-Shore Detention program.

- Redirect that money to education - including tertiary (Vocational and Uni) education. Anyone with the ability and the desire to further their education should be able to.

- Review our social policies in regards to maternity leave, childcare and work/life balance - with the emphasis on finding solutions for REAL CHOICE.

- Sign the Kyoto treaty and cut government spending/investment on non-sustainable industries.

- As part of our commitment to Kyoto, redirect that money to spending/investing on renewable energy industries. Note that because much of our renewable energy sources are in Australia's rural and regional areas, this spending/investing should be done in alignment with a concentrated, and coordinated effort to revive the social and economic life of the rural and regional areas.

- Slowly phase out susbsidies to the Rice industry - our land is not made for growing rice, we just don't get enough rainfall.

- Promote the growth of industries specialising in intellectual property - I believe it is the market of the future.

- Abolish unethical election practices - such as using public moneys and resources to promote election promises. This includes rejecting the current Howard proposal of cutting off the electoral roll ON THE DAY an election is called - rather than the 2 weeks after. This has the potential to cut out thousands of young people from voting for the next 3 years. YOUNG ADULTS ARE OUR FUTURE. They should have a say.

- FULL commitment to creating a tolerant and cohesive society.

- STOP the full sale of Government assets - such as the sale of Telstra.

Two of the things I would bring in is:

Income splitting for single-income married couples... so the tax is more evenly distributed...

All education to be tax-deductable... not just child care... I have never used child-care but pay hefty private school fees... I am sure that in the distant past school fees were tax deductable...

There are plenty more things I would do too... will watch this space with interest!

Tuzi...xxx

DD 1996
DS 1999
DS 2002

I would create more childcare places, and somehow reduce the cost of childcare for working families, possibly by making the non working families (who currently have free or next to free childcare) contribute a small portion of funds to their child's care.


I would also put more funding into hospitals to reduce waiting lists for services for children. The waiting lists for non surgery things like speech therapy are ridiculous at 12 mths+ for anything. Thats a long time out of a toddlers development to wait.


I would also cut millions of dollars being sent to countries capable of sustaining themselves each year. Did you know we give a million dollars a year to Ireland??????? That money could be better spent elsewhere.


Also change legislation so that taxpayer funds (families money) wouldn't be used for pre election sweeteners or election funds. Holding back money and services to make my party look better isn't a good thing. That money too could go elsewhere.
Liz



This message was edited by LJWMummy on Tuesday, 1 June 2004 @ 9:13 AM

I would STOP funding private schools more over state schools.

There is lots of stuff but that is the one that really pips me.

Debbie
Due
2nd July 2004


This message was edited by cheyanna3 on 1 June 2004 @ 9:48 AM

Not much too add as the above lovelies have said most of it.

I would look at rewriting Australia's Constitution and include a Bill of Rights. I'd also promote philanthropy. Every house would have to have a water recycling system and the rice and cotton industry would be phased out. Could go on and on and on.....

Cut the lurks and perks of politicans
- pay increases as per cpi
- superannuation
- travel (car allowance, overseas trips etc.)
- additional benefits

More if I could think of things. They are treated like royalty and we the tax pays are paying for all this.

More money should be spent on education, health, elderly and poverty within our country.

Audreyy

<a href="http://lilypie.com"><img src="http://lilypie.com/days/041122/0/25/0/+10" alt="Lilypie Baby Days" border="0" /></a>

This isn't a policy, but another thing I'd do if I were PM, would be to throw Natasha Stott Despoja a big baby shower. Have it in the Member's Hall or something, all draped out in baby bunting, and ribbons, with lots of girly cream-cakes, and champagne and babies squealing, and everyone oohing and aaahing over the sweet baby gifts. ;p I'd invite all the women from both houses, and a bunch of ebers.

Soften up those testosterone filled corridors of power a bit .

...except I don't think I could bring myself to invite Amanda Vanstone :eg:


Lex 23/01/03 Baz 30/11/98

Dont forget to allow breastfeeding in parliment LOL

Debbie
Due
2nd July 2004

Bless their poor souls. Pardon me if I find it hard to feel sorry for them.

Cheers!

Georgie (31)
DH Andy (33)
DS Caelan (30.05.03)

EDD No. 2 January/February 2005!!!!

"Oh how my heart beats wild
When I hold my precious child"

Fair enough. I only used 1/2 of the quote becuase this was about politics.

For what its worth - I don't feel a lot of pity for the executives either.

Cheers!

Georgie (31)
DH Andy (33)
DS Caelan (30.05.03)

EDD No. 2 January/February 2005!!!!

"Oh how my heart beats wild
When I hold my precious child"

As an ex-high earner (technical, non-exec), I can say, you DO work darn hard for the money.
You are just about "owned" by your employer and on call 24 hours/day 7 days/week. You cant have a family life...

I dont think the PM is overpaid. I do think the CBA/other execs that earn exhorbitant amounts of money are.

Anyway, if I were PM, I'd:
- increase company tax and put more effort into cracking down on the tax paid by those high execs.

- put more money into education for children aged 0 - 5 (not just childcare but EDUCATION) as this is the age where their neural pathways are made. Labour has actually put out a research paper on this and determined that every cent thats spent in that age group would save something like 3 cents later on.

- I'd look at revising the curriculum-based education system we have now into something more individualistic.


Robyn
DS Tyler Francis 16/6/01
DS Cooper Flynn EDD 26/6/04
<a href="http://lilypie.com"><img src="http://lilypie.com/days/040626/1/26/0/+10" alt="Lilypie Baby Days" border="0" /></a>

I don't think the PM position is well paid considering what the job entails. I read the stats a few days ago and the PM's package is currently around $350,000. The US Presidents was about US$200,000 about two years ago - not a lot either. But, they can make a lot of money once they leave office. Apparently Costello could be making $1m pa if he went back to the bar.

Id give myself more perks and lotsa money.

Coz I could.



<img src="http://www.weddedbliss.com.au/Kelly/triptych.jpg">

If I was Prime Minister I would provide better funding for Assisted Conception (although this has improved under the safety net)

I woo would make childcare tax deductable

I would provide funding for extra literacy assistance in the first 3 years of school when kids learn the quickest.

I would put more money into early intervention programs for special needs kids

I would fund 2 years of kinder per child

AND definitely do something about HECs

Karen- Am very pleased you aren't PM if you would cut all welfare payments to working parents! My DH works 6 days a week, 10 hours a day to bring home just under $28,000 a year. Yeah he DOES work but don't think we could survive on that with a couple of kids and still have a roof over our heads and a car to drive! (and no, he can't just go and find a better paid job as we, like many people, live in a small country town where any job is appreciated!)


Me (cat) 24
DH (Nathan) 23
Beautiful Cat (Ally)


TTC #1 since Feb 2003
Tried Clomid and Metformin but no luck! Preparing myself for the next step....
http://sc.groups.msn.com/tn/A7/30/TryingTo...Under25/4/6.jpg

I would allocate heaps of research dollars into finding a sustainable & safe resource alternative to oil, so that oil would become obsolete and the oil companies also would become obsolete, & no longer need to rely on the Middle East. This way Al-Qaeda would get their way & rid the Middle East of all Westerners, and they can go back to fighting amongst themselves.



Oops - just read the OP again (properly this time !) and realised that my idea has nothing to do with improving things for young families !!! Except maybe petrol prices would be lower (or non-existant)

This message was edited by nic2003 on Tuesday, 1 June 2004 @ 9:40 PM

I would increase the PM's salary ...

Get myself half a dozen handsome body guards

Grow my eyebrows into a monobrow

Go on my newly approved six months annual leave, starting tomorrow - oh, no, that is a research trip ... researching the child friendliness of resorts and transport systems around the world.

Sack my policy writers and replace them with some of you from above, because I am not so clever to have the good ideas above

Jo2+2<BR>Angel Baby - Rachel - born still 21/11/00 (23 weeks)<BR>Matthew & Erin 7/11/01<P><BR>

I'd cut the lurks and perks of pollies as well - pay, super, travel allowances, etc.

I'd change the tax laws so that our superannuation wasn't taxed 3 times.

Cut the defense budget so Health and Education got enough to work really well! And private schools would not get funds for extra perks like swimming pools.

Fix private health insurance and liability insurance so that OB's didn't have to charge so much on top of what the private health funds charge.

Savanna

diary *brighteyes*
DD - Aleisha Savanna born 5th July, 2002

I don't necessarily think that the PM is overpaid - I just don't think he's underpaid. I mean, what expenses does he have?

Cheers!

Georgie (31)
DH Andy (33)
DS Caelan (30.05.03)

EDD No. 2 January/February 2005!!!!

"Oh how my heart beats wild
When I hold my precious child"

Nic2003 - I think your idea of putting more resources into sustainable and renewable energies DOES help young families. After all, its our children who will have to live with the consequences of our heavy reliance on a limited resource.

But on a more frivolous note ('cause I'm not in the mood to think deep atm and to show that I do have a secret wish of becoming a dictator), other things I would do:

1. Push through legislation that says only people under the age of 50yrs old can vote on the next referendum for a Republic. It would take so long to get a proper model up and going that anyone over 50 will probably not be around anymore so why should they have a say and WE live with the consequences of their decisions?

2. Ensure that only intelligent people can vote.

3. Ensure that the next time the US pays someone gazillions of $$ to find out if Iraq had WMD, that I get the job. I could have told them that there was no WMD and would've charged only half the consultancy fee. ('Course as PM of the country, I would declare my business interest to the nation while doing this consultancy job)

4. Run an election campaign based on the slogan: "Vote for Me - 'cause I know people."

5. Change the national anthem to something cooler.

6. Change the flag to something cooler.

7. Hold a reality tv show on people writing/designing the new anthem & flag - the revenue from people voting I think would mean I could waive the GST charge for the duration of the series.

I would make it illegal for Premiers to be able to change number plates to a tacky maroon colour with "The Smart State" as its slogan... pfft!

I would save us a heap of $$$$ in software and security problems (from worms and virus) and get rid of Microsoft products and install linux on all government and school computer desk tops..

I would block any silly Intellectual Property and Patent laws from the USA entering Australia..

I would give more power to Parents to look after their own children again.. and would organise mandatory councelling and discussions with parents and children before ever handing out $$ to runaway children to ensure that there *is* actually a problem at home that can not be solved.

Compulsory councelling before divorce is allocated for families with children (unless dangerous situations such as abuse).. and divorce only to be granted after completion of that course and no hope/resolution is determined.

Abolish high sugar and high fat foods from tuckshops in schools.. and have exercise programs at schools..

*** JaDeGaL ***

TTC # 1

Actually the NSW state (Labor), government already has, and is implementing your "abolish high sugar/fat foods from tuckshops" policy Jadegal.


Lex 23/01/03 Baz 30/11/98

This message was edited by ~Franny~ on Wednesday, 2 June 2004 @ 8:21 PM

Glad to hear they are getting something right Franny ;p heheh

But no seriously.. that is a really good thing...

*** JaDeGaL ***

TTC # 1

Jadegal I totally agree with your last 2 ideas.
I would also:

ban the sale of baby walkers, cot quilts, cot bumpers and cot pillowcases

invest heavily in early childhood development

try to sort out the salinity problem

take control of health away from the states and place it with the federal govt

provide free financial management training to all school leavers welfare recipients and anyone else who requests it so that people learn to manage their money

(and this is the reason I would never be elected) every time people whinged about the health system point out that if we all ate right, exercised, did not smoke, drank in moderation, obeyed all traffic laws and a few other things that I can't think of right now that there would not be a health crisis and that maybe we should all think about our own role in that and do something about it rather than expecting the govt to just throw more money at it

Helen

Take the GST off anything that had to do with nappies, pads and tampons.

Cheers!

Georgie (31)
DH Andy (33)
DS Caelan (30.05.03)

EDD No. 2 January/February 2005!!!!

"Oh how my heart beats wild
When I hold my precious child"

Just a note - Not all private school shave swimming pools etc etc Savanna :-)

(Actually...most of them don't )

Some great suggestions above. I especially love this from KarenK



ROFL The number of times I have had to rering the ATO just to get someone who can communicate in ENGLISH.

My policies:

* Boost aussie content on television.

Environmental
* Abolish primary industries that are not sustainable in Australia (eg Rice and Cotton)

* Invest heavily in renewable energy sources

* Impose heavily taxes on environementally unfriendly products eg disposable nappies, takeaway containers to discourage use

* Encourage higher density living. Their is too much urban sprawl in Australia.

* Do more to protect native forests, flora and fauna. I'm all for logging of pine forests, but logging of virgin rainforests and rare timbers has to stop. Ban the import of furniture made from rare timbers.


Healthy Families
* Ban preservatives and additives in foods that are known to cause behavioural reactions in children

* Allow income splitting amongst spouses for income tax purposes. I feel our family is discriminated against because I don't work. (ie we pay WAY more taxes than we would if we both earned half of DHs salary)

* Funding of private schools is a GOOD thing. Parents pay private school fees to subsidise the cost of running the school. If every private school in Australia shut their doors tomorrow, the government could not afford to educate every child in Australia. Private schools actually alleviate amount of $ that the government needs to find to meet the country's education requirements. Parents who choose to send their children to private schools pay taxes and they should be entitled to have some of those funds channelled into the school they choose to send their children.

* Tax deductions on childcare, school fees and uniforms and books (apparently in the 1970's this was allowed!)


International Relations
* Follow NZs lead and say NO to the USA.

* Abolish mandatory detention altogether. I agree that people's backgrounds need to be checked but holding people for years is plain ridiculous (not to mention expensive).

* On side note I am very much against just removing children from detention centres and keeping their parents there. To me this is no different from removing aboriginal children from their parents in the 1920's and 30's. Children belong with their parents, not 'concerned citizens'.

Karen
Nicholas, Courtney and Chloe
EDD 25/09/04




<a href="http://lilypie.com"><img src="http://lilypie.com/days.php?e=040925&m=0&s=0" alt="Lilypie Baby Days" border="0" /></a>

I also would make it that cigarettes aren't the ONLY products that have warnings, ie, alcohol would have one that says "WARNING: THIS PRODUCT CAN DAMAGE YOUR LIVER" and others would say "WARNING: THIS PRODUCT CONTAINS ***** WHICH HAS BEEN KNOWN TO CAUSE *****".



Cheers!

Georgie (31)
DH Andy (33)
DS Caelan (30.05.03)

EDD No. 2 January/February 2005!!!!

"Oh how my heart beats wild
When I hold my precious child"

There would be a better public education system.
At LEAST 12 weeks paid maternity leave!
Yes, childcare being tax deductable.
Give family day care providers a payrise, they are so underpaid! Also child care workers.
Kindergarten Teachers need better conditions, eg. pay should be the same as state schools.
Vaccine for mengiccocal (however its spelt!) should definately be funded.

lis (29)
DF (33)
DD Dec 02

Getting married Sept 12th, 04!

<a href='http://www.smileycentral.com/?partner=ZSzeb008' target='_blank'><img src='http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/11/11_3_2.gif' border=0></a>

Sorry mummy2boys - bad example of swimming pool, but was only thing I could think of late at night ;p .

I was meaning the grants big private schools (like Kings, etc) get for extra things, that public schools have no hope at all of getting, when public schools have trouble getting basic necessity's like books, pencils and toilet paper. (Big public education backer, being a teacher in state system).

I don't so much mind the money any school gets from all taxpayers for having the pupils it has in the school; its the extras they get on top of that, when I feel public schools should be given a go at the funds first type of thing.

Another thing I would add to list of things I would do:
* finally organise the education system nationally so we don't have pre-school, kindergarten and Year 1 meaning the same thing in different states. It would be nice to be able to move around in this country and not have to worry about which class they'll be in if you move states. Plus it would sure make it a lot less confusing down in my forum LOL

Savanna

diary *brighteyes*
DD - Aleisha Savanna born 5th July, 2002

That is an excellent idea..!

I also liked the idea of making hospitals a national problem as well that some one suggested..



*** JaDeGaL ***

TTC # 1

About the higher density living...

As someone who lives in a part of Sydney that is VERY densely populated, and likely to get more so, as higher density living is government policy, I don't actually think this is such a good idea. Whilst encouraging more dense population, the infrastructure for water/public transport/sewerage, etc is not in place to be able to deal with the number of people that are being forced into small areas.

What *I* would encourage instead is the support of smaller cities. So businesses that wanted to relocate to Wagga, for example, would be able to get some government relief to do so. It would help with the main problem that Australia has where people outside the state capitals really don't have many other options apart from rural living.

Cheers

Di

PS I love our national anthem.

Di van Dulken
Mummy to Adara Madeline

12/2/03
Click here for pics

I'm cancelling Tashy's baby shower, everyone is RSVPing that they can't come and are busy for the next six months .

;p


Lex 23/01/03 Baz 30/11/98

....and here's me thinking how lucky we are to live in australia.

Do you think that we have all reached a higher level of discontent because we take our standard of living in Australia for granted.

As PM I would give everyone "soul days" where people could explore their spiritual (not necessarily religious) self. I think some inner reflection would do us all a lot of good!

katycat

Katycat

'Soul Days' sound good to me

I agree that people on the lowest income in this country are 1000 times better off than the people of some third world countries.

If I was PM of the world, I KNOW what policies I'd bring in

I think we have a right to be discontented at the policies of Australian governments though if we disagree with them. I for one, would not have sent bombs to the children of Iraq.

In the future for Australia, I'd like more choice for mums and dads in regards to careers, jobs & children.
I'd like for both mums and dads to be able to spend part of their week at home with their young children, AND be able to maintain careers/jobs.
I hate the notion that a career has to held down 5-6 days a week, including long hours.

I think dads are missing out on too much of their children's growing years, and mums miss out too much on their working life. This is in general, because it should be about choice, and what works for your family.

If I was PM I would free all children from mandatory detention. Some of these asylum seeker children can spend up to three years or more in prison like conditions on wasteland outposts like Nauru. I am ashamed that Australia can treat any child this way. If it were my child, I would be an emotional wreck knowing he was growing up in such a harsh environment. I'd like to give the PM a massive injection of compassion!

How about improving the workplace so that:
1. women are not penalised in their careers for having babies (don't kid yourself that discrimination is out the window)
2. Have mandatory 12 months paid maternity leave
3. Make childcare accesible and affordable OR pay women and families enough money so that women don't feel they HAVE TO go back to work just to pay the bills.
4. Elevate the role of family in society instead of just pretending that it is important.
5. give men more opportunites to be present in their children's lives (by giving paternal leave, paying women equal pay to men so households can share work etc)
6. Change the family court system so that parental rights are 50:50 and men can have the oppotunity to parent their kids too if divorce or separation occurs.

AND GET OUT OF IRAQ! THERE ARE NO WMD'S THERE!

Saskia 27
DH 29
DDoggie (Ruby)
TTC 18 mths
Tracking/ovulation induction
Now EDD 10.12.04! Yay!
[img]http://lilypie.com/days/041210/0/25/0/+8[/img]

hi - i agree with all of the above, but one thing I would add is that I find it interesting that the Government calls itself pro family, yet does nothing to assist families long-term. How, for example, are women going to have enough superannuation to cover their retirement, if there is no opportunity to work part time in interesting, remunerative work? Or if by staying out of the workplace altogether to look after kids (bc childcare is just too much) they have no job to return to? Is the idea that I work until I'm 70 and then turn around and look after my children's children because they cant afford childcare either?
Not looking forward to it...

kk

Superannuation for women is a major issue I beleive, and also under current rules, people earning under a certain amount don't have to have super paid I think?
Which disadvatages so many women who have returned to the workforce part time.

<center>Sandra</center>

<center><center>

<center>"The real measure of your wealth is how much you'd be worth if you lost all your money."</center>

firstly we should stop paying people to have babies!!! this country can not suport a huge population increase!
stop imigration (nothing agaist migrants...just against over population)....yes population may be important for the economy to grow .....but how do we plan on feeding all these people???

also these other policies

Perminent water restrictios for all!!
new houses to have big water tanks (10,000 gallon) will suport families for most of the year without having to buy water!

this may be a little hard for people in the cities to deal with but it is the only way we will survive the driest continent in the world

every new house to be fitted with solar pannels linked into the grid ....can you believe they want to build another coal power plant

wind power!!! if the greenies say anything bad about these you are not really a greeny...have you seen the big ugly black hole that supplys the coal??!!! and the polution!

stop the urban sprawl!!...so much valuable farm land is being bought out of the reach of farmers by wealthy city people....

outlaw smoking!....people who smoke will get over it...yes it can be hard to quit...been there done that...they will be more sucessful if they dont have a choice!....the govenment would lose lots in taxes initially but just imagin the health saving in years to come!

all these things will make lives for our kids...the future so much better

hope i have not offended anyone!

Anna

Anna(23)
DH - TJ (25)
Mackenzie Rose 4/4/04

Increase funding to early intervention and early childhood education.
Decrease class sizes and increase funding to aides in classes. Stop making it increasingly difficult for children to have aides (it's only going to cost us as a society more in future with semi literate and frustrated teens).
Stop giving money to exclusive private schools and increase the money given to public schools to upgrade resources.

I have to admit I've never read one of these hot topics and I'm very impressed. Although I have to admit I sure wouldnt vote for some of you

ok my list

Paid parental leave for all parents, ie if one works the other gets the equivalent of newstart as the jobs they are not doing are available for other people, which is good!!

Abolish HECS, all the pollies got a free education, it should be a right!

Stop funding to private schools. Public schools should not have to fundraise to provide for the basic necessities, books, airconditioning/heating, etc

I am not worried too much about the salaries and perks for politicians, its what they get after their reign is over that bothers me. They've done a job let them get a new one or retire like other people. Dont fund their cars, business class airfares or give them 30
% super!!!

Funding to health care. Improve hospital waiting lists and time people are in a&e. Restructure medicare to cover everything, dental, physio etc, this 80% of the gap once you reach this amount is ridiculous.

Solar panels for all new homes (partly stolen idea but I had a similar concept befroe I read this) and I love the idea of homes being built with water tanks. Subsidy/other paymetn to encourage reusing of greywater.

Addition of 4wheeldrive as a Drivers Licence class. Similar to small truck licence.

This one is gonna be hard but some sort of registration for parents. Some people should not be allowed to have kids. I have to have a licence to have a dog, lets take it further. ie training in "why your kids need a healthy breakfast Every Day", "what sort of car seat do your kids need and why they should always use a seatbelt!" and "op shopping for basic necessities, your kids do not have to be cold", "why fast food will make your kids fat"

More cycle paths and play areas for kids. Preferably monitored so vandals dont get to them and so your kids can use them safely.

I also want someone to come up with a better way of keeping prisoners and asylum seekers. It costs more to keep them where they are than to pay them the dole and let them run free!! Not right.

Also love the idea of subsidised "feminine hygene products"

I'd like to see more money set aside for charities and research. Imagine instead of doorknockers and phone harassment, just a set fee in your tax every year. Research into better ways of sterilisation, gotta be beter ways than tying tubes and snipping stuff, better stuff than tampons and pads - maybe a way of only having a period if you want to have kids? (dreaming i know)

lots more.. getting off soapbox now

Syb

mum to Rebecca - May 2000 and Katherine - Jan 2003

Unfortunately, the budget of the government is not limitless and some of what we would all love to see isn't possible without raising taxes. Anyway, here are some of mine:

1. I'm totally with allowing "income splitting" between a married (and *registered* defacto) couple. Any income
hould be able to be shared between two people if one decides to stay home to raise children - NO OTHER REASON. Raising children is a job, you should get paid for it. However, I don't believe in paid maternity leave - this disadvantages those people who choose not to have children. Up to, say, $25000 of the higher income earner's income should be able to be shared with their partner. More than that would unfairly benefit the wealthy.

2. I like the idea of tax-deductible childcare, my vote for that one.

3. There has been a lot of misinformation spread about the money that private schools receive over public recently. State schools are supposed to be primarily funded by the *state*, and indeed they are. In fact, as I understand it, no private schools get any funding whatsoever from the state governments. The federal government does fund private schools more to make up for that fact. Personally, I would like to see one national system - at least at primary school level - for education. Take the funding for education out of the state government coffers and let the federal government fund the whole lot. Then there could be no misinformation about where the funding comes from. It would also make interstate moves easier. When I moved VIC->QLD there were 4 in my family in primary school including me. Some things I was taught twice, others I missed altogether. How dumb is that? I believe that private schools should have better facilities than public (don't hit me!), but NOT better education. If as a parent you choose to pay to send your child private, you should receive some benefit from it. It's like public vs private hospitals - the care is generally just as good, but you get more control in the private system and the facilities are a bit nicer. That's how it should be. In my case I am going to send my children private, but it's because I want them raised with Catholic beliefs and not because I have anything against the public system. Obviously there are some private schools that are very well off, but they do charge high rates. Not all private schools are necessarily richer - the college I went to had fewer facilities and fewer subjects available than the public school a walk up the road. It may be different in some of the inner city schools, but don't penalise the country people who choose private just because of that!

4. I approve of all the various points to improve the environment, including mandatory water tanks and solar panels, and outlawing smoking.

5. To Anna: DON'T stop paying at least some baby bonus, and don't make it means tested (Howard got this right). Also, don't block immigration. Why? Because our generation (like Anna, I am in my early 20s) are going to be *paying* for our parents' retirement, and without some help we won't manage it. In 50 years, if the population doesn't at least tread water (it's currently going down), you will have NO CHOICE but to have your parents move in with you or live in slums unless they are the lucky few who have enough resources to live alone. I for one value my freedom. Our generation will, hopefully, have enough in super. But the "baby boomer" generation (sorry ladies who fit here!!) started super a little late, and are living longer than ever before. 9% of 40 years income is not going to sustain you for another 30 years I'm afraid, even with compound interest. We will still need the pension, and our generation cannot afford it. If we can keep our population in a controlled climb for a little bit longer, until we get over that hurdle, then we can look at reducing world population (which I do support in the long run).

6. In answer to HECS (sybille), I don't think it's necessarily a "right" to have more education than is required to fully participate in society. Most people who do a degree end up earning more money as a result. It's only fair that they contribute to the cost. However, I do think that some shorter (1 year full-time) degrees for self-improvement and eg basic computer/management skills should be made available, and free. Give people the education they need, they can pay for the education they want.

7. Total agreement that politicians should be paid what they're worth (which is more than some people think - they're running our country for crying out loud!). But once they are out of office, they should become normal citizens. Abolish all life-long benefits. This does mean that they have to be paid more while working, but so be it. Don't put responsibility for paying for current politicians on the next generation.

8. YES YES YES 4 wheel drives are a different kind of vehicle, and should have their own license. These things are deadly.

9. There are many "accidental" births, so registering as parents might be a bit harsh. However, I do think that certain courses should be mandatory for both marriage and parenting, and you should not be permitted to keep your child if you haven't done a course within the first 6 months. Having said that, there's no way anyone's taking my baby off me!

10. I don't like the idea of government-funded charities instead of doorknockers. This means that only charities that suit the government's agenda get any funding at all. Give me the doorknockers, thanks. I like to choose where my donations go.

11. dogmac makes a good point about helping people to spread out. The government doesn't do this so that a single train line suits more people, but seriously! Satellite cities are a good thing. There are plenty of places along the coast that with a few upgrades would be ideal for various businesses to set up shop. This really needs a culture change, though - businesses have a belief that it's better to be in the "big city". Bah, nonsense.

12. Stop giving tax cuts! I know this won't make me popular, but put the money into education and health care instead. And teen programs to give the poor kids something to do! 100 years ago they would have been working already, now we take away their place in society and replace it with "school". Some kids are not cut out for school, and would be better eased into the workforce early if that is what they want (their choice).

Wow, some soapbox hey?

Sarah
TTC #1 since February 2003
BFP!
[img]http://lilypie.com/days/050105/0/21/0/+10[/img]

I agree with a lot of the great ideas for social reform already posted here! (stop treating refugees like criminals etc)
From the birth/child-rearing side of things, the priority for me would be:
1. minimum of 3-6 weeks paid maternity/paternity leave for all parents
2. tax breaks for parents while on single income (the income splitting idea)
3. tax breaks to companies that offer creche facilities for their employees, and allow such an expense to be salary packaged by employees (ie, paid from their pre-tax salary)
4. campaign to change attitudes to motherhood and parenthood in this country - ie. why is motherhood so undervalued? In my generation it was frowned upon to become a mum young, yet suddenly we're all being told to hurry up and have babies before our biological clock runs out. There is a huge double standard! I think there is a lot of pressure in our society to be many roles at once and pull it all off - career woman, mother, loving wife etc - yet being a mum is not valued by employers in many situations - quite the reverse. I think a huge attitude shift is required...

My 2 cents!
Hito

I have to agree about cutting Politicians perks. While I understand that they are doing a very important job etc they should be subject to the same policies re wages as the rest of Australia. I know I do not have exact figures but recently, minimum wage earners were given a pay rise. This equated to (if my memory is right) about $20 a week which is roughly $1000 a year which was reported as being extremely generous. How does this compare to the pay rises constantly given to our politicians of thousands of dollars every year?

Also, it is my understanding and feel free to correct me if I am wrong, that politicians have access to their superannuation nearly immediately after retiring from politics. How is that even possible when the average Australian cannot even access their super until they are 65?

As for travel, with todays technology why is this large amount of trips even necessary. We have the internet, we have international telephone communications, we even have the ability to video conference around the world. Maybe someone should let our politicians know about these things. Everyday Australians manage to "maintain relationships" with people all over the world without flying around the world at other peoples expense every day. These trips need to be cut down to a very minimum.

As fot the Iraq issue, our troops are over there trying to help establish a better life for the people of Iraq where they will have the same freedoms and rights that we take for granted in Australia. Where they can criticise a government and not be tortured because of it. If this isnt enough for you, think about it this way. If Australia was ever in a position where we required military assistance, the first countries we would look to are the US and England. Our tropps are trained for this and do a fantastic job and if you asked most of them, the troops who actually go over there, you would not find a single objection among them.

Someting else I would do is ensure that our national anthem and our flag are protected. These are our heritage, it is what our parents and our parents parents fought for. To change them would be like erasing the past and forgetting all the sacrifices made for us to live like we do today.

On a last note, I am sorry but we are not responsible for what happened in this country when it was under different control. I would be very disappointed if JH was to apologise on behalf of the country for something the majority of the country had nothing to do with.

There were some great ideas in this thread. I'd love to parcel them all up and send them onto Canberra

But time to lock as this is the first day of July.