You will have heard in recent days and weeks some talk of raising the GST from 10 per cent to 15 per cent.

This conversation has been caused by the Federal Government completely choking and starving the States of money for hospitals, health and education.

No doubt, if you are choking someone and then offer them some air they will say yes.

 The States are in a state of desperation; a desperation caused by the abuse and misuse of financial power by the Federal Government.

In a domestic relationship this type of financial control and starvation is a type of abuse.

The American CIA have been accused of using “water-boarding” to create a very personal, physical sense of desperation that many consider as torture.

I don’t make light of these two very serious examples, nor do I use them flippantly – but I use them to prompt peoples’ thinking and understanding of what is financially happening to this State at the hands of the Federal Government.

It is financial starvation with no end in sight, unless the States agree to do what the Federal Government wants them to do – raise the GST.

Why would the Federal Government do this?  Well in short it is ego and ideology. 

You see, all GST goes to the Federal Government who then gets to decide who gets what and how it is spent.

This means that the Federal Government is always seen as the “gift-givers” even when they are just returning the GST money back to the States that they owed to the States.

So the States remain obedient to the Federal Government and they will bow and curtsey and say “yes sir – yes ma’am” and “no sir – no ma’am”.

It also means that the States become the terrible nasty people that forced the rise in taxes (GST) and the Federal Government get to say “we didn’t want to do this, we don’t want to tax you, but the States have begged us to”.

Someone wants to keep their hands clean by forcing someone else to dig the hole. 

And finally, it is a way to make sure that the poor people pay more in tax and the wealthy people get to pay less – the rich get richer and the poor get the picture (I will explain this in my next column).

I am entirely and completely opposed to a rise in the GST.

I find in completely unfathomable that we as Australians, and we as politicians of all colours, find it so hard to implement a sovereign wealth tax on our coal, iron ore and other minerals; minerals that belong to all of us and are making enormous profits for some, and yet, we are asked to support a tax on the poorest in our community.

Who are we and what are we as a people to even consider this? 

And what type of anti-Australian blunt-skull adopts this as a political strategy?

DOING MORE FOR INJURED WORKERS

I met last week with the WorkCover Independent Review Office (WIRO). They are doing their best to ensure that injured workers are treated fairly within the current legislation.

They have had enormous success in bringing together injured workers with the insurers that are managing their recovery.

Often, the two parties are forced to stand at 20 paces apart, with weapons drawn.  WIRO has been trying to bring the parties together to find middle ground and ultimately get a solution. And they have been doing it with great success.

If you are out there and you are an injured worker and you are thinking that your matter is being handled poorly, try WIRO on 13 94 76.

BPW CESSNOCK 60-YEAR ANNIVERSARY

On Friday last week the BPW Cessnock held a benefit night for Jodie’s Place – a safe environment for people escaping domestic violence.

Jodie’s Place is a grass roots local organisation doing amazing work on a shoe-string budget of local donations. They get $0 Government funding.

Domestic violence is a terrible part of our society that we all need to work towards eliminating.

Jodie’s Place would happily go out of business through lack of need – if it meant that DV had completely disappeared. But until that time (that nirvana) our community most definitely needs Jodie’s Place and other places like it.

I congratulate the BPW Cessnock on their 60 years and also on their decision to support such a worth-while cause as Jodie’s Place.

Cheers, Clayton