I want to thank the many, many, many people that have filled out and returned the stadium petition that I mailed to you. It has been an incredible response. The reality is that the number of returned petitions is in keeping with the number of people that have made mention of the ridiculousness of it all, to me, in the street.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
I realise that not everyone will agree with me sending the petition out. I 100 percent respect the right of those that support the stadium spending to be supporters of it.
For those taking the time to fill out the petition the aim is to get 10,000 signatures on the petition so that the issue can be debated in Parliament. This will provide me with the opportunity to talk about the many better things that the $2.5 billion could be spent on – and I will be starting with a very long list of things here in the Cessnock electorate.
Kurri Ambulance Station
Just last week, the Health Minister’s office confirmed that the damaged Kurri Kurri Ambulance Station will be repaired and re-opened, but the repairs will take most of the year. We shouldn’t expect the station to reopen until late in the year. Meanwhile, the ambulances are operating from Kurri Kurri Hospital and are still very much active and in our local area.
Company tax cuts
Two weeks ago, ABC journalist Emma Alberici wrote a brilliant article on the folly of tax cuts to the big corporates. In fact, she identified that many of the really big corporates pay no tax in Australia at all. That should anger all of us that do pay tax, including small and medium and large businesses that pay.
Let’s just be clear that companies, big or small, rely heavily on what is provided by the taxes that we pay. Let’s start with the education levels of those employed – education paid for by our taxes. And then there is the health of those that these companies employ – paid for by our taxes. And then they have the roads provided to enable the companies to operate. And then they have the protections offered by our laws of society. And then they have the protections offered by our police to make sure that each company and business that trades in Australia is safe. These benefits to the companies, big or small, are all paid for by taxes. So why should the really big, mega-million dollar companies that benefit more than anyone else from the infrastructure of our society, funded by taxes, get a huge tax break?
