One of the things that has slipped through is this:

social workers were part of the medicare scheme called Better Access that provided up to 12 sessions of counselling per year with the person only paying the gap. Now soical workers are being excluded from the scheme.



This means that especially in rural areas people may have to wait months to see a psychologist or they may find there is no psychologist for miles around.



Social workers have special skills in working with people with complex needs. Now people are not having access to counselling social workers. Sad.

[color=purple]Below is a summary of what I have been able to find out about how retirees fared in the budget.

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Disclaimer: I reserve the right to do a backflip, abandon responsibility for this satement, or send one of you out to apologise for it.

[/color]



I like it. :)

My original post was very tongue in cheek because I couldn't find any mention of retirees.



I added a touch of sarcasm as a footnote because I think "he" deserves it.



Unfortunately the only mention re retirees and the budget so far is a negative one.



It seems that grey power, especially at the ballot box has been forgotten.

Perhaps like some pollies will be forgotten on polling day.



BTW: Don't ever think that sites like this aren't monitored by over educated and under intelligent government advisors who kid themselves that they are keeping up with public sentiment.

Whilst those on salaries well above $100,000.00 make policies for those on less than $20,000.00 we will never see reality.

Good point JustMe. Something that I have been saying, on here, for

nearly 2 years. POLITICS means BALLOT BOX, nothing more &

nothing less. Of course sites, like this, are monitored & because of

the monitoring, they are fully aware that grey power DOES NOT EXIST.

It is quite clear that even the Labor Party back room boys are beginning

to have a good look at Rudd's future viability. Anybody with an open

mind well be able to see the obvious; that never in our short political

history has a Prime Minister wasted so much money on his personal

ineptitude & actually achieved so little. But, anybody monitoring this

site will note that he has not lost a single voter. The supporters are

in self denial, but will still vote Labor & none will switch sides, so why

do anything for the Seniors. If you look at the balance of optional

spending of Governments, at all levels, you will note that most spending

seldom goes to safe seats, on either side, it actually goes to the

swinging seats. WHY? Because they are the only seats that matter.

The Greens are the most listened to Party, in Australia, because

nearly 80% of their supporters vote as one. It is more than

coincidence that if you look at the Greens Membership, outside of

Perth, it is at its lowest in Western Australia, which is the only State

with a Liberal Government. The Seniors will never matter, one iota,

in the Electorate until until we learn to break the 40, 40 20% rule

Many of us feel if Seniors stopped their whinging a lot of the

time and enjoyed their last years they would be a happier lot and

faces might begin to smile instead of what seems like a Bunch of

Whingers. Sure a rise in the pension is lovely but we are not too badly off at all.

Labour is in power so why not embrace this and stop getting the blood

pressure up by constantly complaining. We are not badly done by here in

Australia and to be honest my husband and I are having a ball on the pension

Sure we have to be careful but that goes for most of us when rearing children

and working so why would some seniors expect to live beyond comfortable

on the pension.

Some folks really do need to get a life and if on the age pension it is fantastic.

Sure no complaints if Mr Rudd would like to give us a little bit more though.

Gday Yaretzi



I think you have misinterpreted peoples comments.

We may be doing well in Australia, and we may be enjoying retirement with what we have.

My point is; and I accept that I'm the one who should make it clear,

that if there's billions being raised in taxes to be handed out it should be done equitably across the board.

OR, don't collect so much tax.

My preference would be smaller government, but that's a dream.

So I go for equity across the community.

I'm not doing too bad but that means nothing to the real battlers who can't afford the internet.

Many of us feel if Seniors stopped their whinging a lot of the time and enjoyed their last years they would be a happier lot and faces might begin to smile instead of what seems like a Bunch of Whingers.



Oh poor Yaretzi you dont understand we are highlighting and LAUGHING at the gross under achievements of the Rudd government, and with Rudd's popularity plummeting it seems the rest of the country (including Labor voters) are starting to wake up to whats been going on and wont vote for him again. Whinging? No not at all.



Labour is in power so why not embrace this and stop getting the blood pressure up by constantly complaining.



Embrace this bunch of incompetent wasteful fools? Not bloody likely!



Thank you for caring about my health but I can assure you my blood pressure is fine



Just me -- I loved your opening post. Perhaps Yaretzi considers that a whinge??

It is exciting to hear the hospitals are getting a great overhaul

Just me. How many years with the Libs. did we wait for this to happen?

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I agree money should be given out carefully but surely Seniors and Retirees

are o.k. but the young people with children and the cost of prescriptions

is very difficult. Maybe we Seniors could pool a bit of our money and help young families

insead of whingeing constantly. People on low incomes with children are

the ones doing it tough. If there is money to spare give it to families not oldies who are o.k.

Mr. Rudd deserves another 3 years so lets all give him a fair go :)

It is exciting to hear the hospitals are getting a great overhaul

Just me. How many years with the Libs. did we wait for this to happen?



[color=blue]Your introducing party politics.

I was commenting on equitable spending of taxes by the government of the day.[/color]



I agree money should be given out carefully but surely Seniors and Retirees

are o.k. but the young people with children and the cost of prescriptions

is very difficult. Maybe we Seniors could pool a bit of our money and help young families

insead of whingeing constantly.



[color=blue]Who's whinging, we are all entitled to an opinion.

It is an undeniable fact that not all retirees are doing well.

They should not be forgotten just because some of us are getting by ok.[/color]



People on low incomes with children are

the ones doing it tough. If there is money to spare give it to families not oldies who are o.k.

Mr. Rudd deserves another 3 years so lets all give him a fair go :)



[color=blue]That's an individual opinion that you are entitled to.

Don't fall into the category of "none so blind as those who refuse to see".

We can all express our opinions, but equally we should be able to see the other side of the story.[/color]

You are very right, JustMe, this is to do with how our Country is or is not run.

Tell me Yaretzi, if your son lived overseas & he visited you once a week &

borrowed your car each time & pranged it every time he drove it. After 130

visits, would you still say he deserves another 156 loans of your car?

I am genuinely querious as to why you think Rudd deserves another 3 years?

I just can't understand how a pensioner, who does not own their home

outright can live on the aged pension in Australia. Actually, why don't you

give us a typical weekly budget?

If you have no idea how to budget at your age Innes and in fact

any seniors who am I to try to educate you sorry.



Don't people receive a chunk of money to help if they have not saved for a home?

Many who do own our own homes find rates etc, have to be budgeted for and

maintenance so maybe not a lot of diference in owning and not owning

other than not so much expected from the taxpayer if we have saved for our homes

(yes not everyone was able to) but we had a large family and did mange to save along

the way because of being careful with our money. We would have loved not to have to accept

money in our older age but not that lucky and we are very grateful to say

Thank You for the Penson.

I also admire Mr Rudd and believe he will do good things for the Country with

his next 3 year stint.

Yaretzi, I don't need you or anybody to show me how to budget. I am

asking how any aged pensioner who does not own their own home outright

can budget to live happily & contentedly on the Australian aged pension.

The reason you can't answer, is because you own your own home, so

obviously you haven't got a clue. I haven't got a clue either. What chunk of

money do people get if they haven't saved for a home? The single full

pension, including add ons is $350 per week, plus a maximum rent

allowance of approx $55 P/W. By the time that you pay rent, min., $250 P/W

& electricity of at least $20 P/W you are left with $130 for clothes, food etc etc

Yes, you can exist on that, but you can't live on that.

You admire Rudd !!! I can live with that. I just ask, WHY ???

About the only thing I can see him doing for Australia, in another 3 years, is

to run out of things to stuff up & run out of businesses to bankrupt. That

is my personal view, but I have an open mind, so tell me specifically what

good things you believe he will do for the Country in the next 3 years?

The heading is the Budget & Retirees, so I think that allows a word or two

about the NSW budget. It seems to be some sort of totally inane mind set

with Politicians. In NSW, we have around 200 Senior Public Servants on

the reserve list, being paid over $150,000 P/A each. WHY? Because they

are considered too valuable to risk losing them to the tax paying private

enterprise. I have been asked by taxi drivers, in China, if it is really true

that you get paid a lot of money, in Australia, to NOT work. I can handle that

with difficulty. Thank God they never heard of the Public Service one.

Einstein couldn't have handled that one.

Has anyone got $$$ figures on how much tax money has been wasted in the past three years?.

If you can put a figure on the waste and the patch ups I wonder what that could have meant to the neediest of pensioners.

As I said earlier I'm not struggling all that much. But I do know people who are.

There plight is less publicised because they're less able to advocate there situation.

Even a few dollars per week would be welcome.



There's no point in attacking each other. That just sidelines the main issue.



This thread is about retirees and the budget.

Whoever is the government of the day is secondary.

Neither side is all good or all bad.