SUPER TAX SCARE
Dear editor,
Oh dear, here we go again! The new government has not yet returned to Parliament, and already a scare campaign is being whipped up about superannuation tax.
During the last term of the Albanese government, they flagged changes to the tax on superannuation. With a 94-seat win, they are entitled to think that they have a mandate to proceed with the policies they put forward.
Therefore, the announced change to the tax on superannuation is no surprise.
The extra tax is only payable on accounts in excess of $3 million.
Super accounts of $3 million plus return about 8 per cent p.a., which is around $240,000 a year, tax-free if in the pension phase. That is $4,600 per week or $660 each day.
How many will see any change to their superannuation?
It will affect just 0.5% of the population. That is, 99.5% will be below the threshold and will not see any changes to their super accounts.
How many readers are in the 0.5% league?
Who else is tired of misinformation and scare campaigns?
Robyn Deane,
Nambour.
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YOUTH LAWS
Dear editor,
The age-old adage [that contradicts frustrating magistrate court bail procedures for re-offending criminals]: “Insanity is doing the same action over and over, but expecting a different outcome”, should be comprehended by magistrates with present law and order expectations in principle, but reluctant in practice.
Repeatedly bailing criminals re-offending while on bail, only to re-offend and appear before the courts over and over for the same crimes, is pure insanity and doesn’t pass the pub test. Obviously, victims of criminal activities and juvenile crime in particular know the justice system fails victims and falls short on justice. Letting the same bailed criminals back into the community without consequences of real consequence plays right into the hands of these young offenders.
So we have a justice system where there is no justice for hard-working victims out of pocket, or those injured by children out of control on our streets, without real solutions. This is an era where children are in our communities, in gangs, openly carrying deadly weapons with impunity, because of weak laws, lack of parental control at home, and low police numbers and inadequate deterrents to deal with the fallout. They find gang life more supportive than home life. They post their illegal antics on social media, skiting about their wins over law and order.
They are the untouchable recalcitrant, making internet heroes from victories over the law, time after time. It emboldens them. The public is left to governments to tighten laws and take these juveniles off our streets. Perhaps dealing with home lives, truancy issues, and real discipline would be a start. Until they turn 18, the outcomes remain the same.
E. Rowe,
Marcoola.
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COALITION QUESTIONS
Dear editor,
How can an Opposition Party that was once glued to their seats in a partnership now have little to be proud of when they “sit alone on a principle basis” having nuked that partnership? Just asking how they can ‘un-nuke’ this and still sit proud?
Margaret Wilkie,
Peregian Beach.
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BRISBANE HERITAGE
Dear editor,
I enjoy my 50-cent train rides exploring Brisbane. They bring back memories of the 1950s, when our family ventured on a Christmas holiday from Sydney by exchanging houses with a family from St Lucia in the 1950s.
Dad was fuming most of the way in the old FJ after being booked for speeding at 5 a.m. on the Harbour Bridge.
As an eight-year-old, I relished summer’s sizzle and the constant buzz of the cicadas amid the choko vines and banana trees at St Lucia. Brisbane reminded my parents of a big country town where the city hall towered over the surrounding buildings.
As a local, Barry Bull recalls that slumbering Brisbane was like a coastal Cunnamulla as heavy vehicles ploughed unfettered through the streets.
I remember riding a rattling tram and being surprised by suburban steam trains puffing through the city, adding their sunstate smoke to the atmosphere, drenched in humidity.
Barry says, Brisbane had a lot of honesty, no drugs, and you didn’t need to lock your doors. It was a safe place to live and raise a family, embracing an uncomplicated lifestyle.
He recalls “regularly skinny dipping in the creek as part of the innocence of creating your own fun.”
While most people now lock their doors, it would be sad if Brisbane’s traditional charm evaporated, and our capital lost its soul under the weight of unfettered development in preparing for the Olympics.
Hopefully, we don’t destroy in haste what made Brisbane a compelling first-choice venue for the world, and that government heritage promises don’t become continually negotiable down to feed corporate greed, political egos, and short-term expediency.
I’d better get some more 50-cent train rides in to see its gracious heritage.
Garry Reynolds,
Peregian Springs.
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