TRACKING ABBOTT’S WRECKAGE

Tony Abbott has been in power since 7 September 2013. From that moment, he and his government have broken promises and hurt Australians. This post will be regularly updated to keep track of the Abbott Government’s broken promises and everything his Government does to hurt Australians. Each separate item will have a link to a source. Broken promises appear in bold and in a separate fully referenced list at the end.

THE LIST

478. Breaks a promise to provide a stable and unified Government – 14 September 2015 

477. Laughs at Pacific countries who’s existence is being threatened by climate change – 10 September 2015

476. Rejects recommendations to make banks pay for tax payer funded insurance – 4 September 2015

475. Wastes $55 million, including $15 million on relocating four refugees to Cambodia before the deal to resettle refugees from Nauru collapses – 30 August 2015

474. Oversees botched Border Force announcement that they would stopping people for visa checks in the Melbourne CBD – 28 August 2015

473. Splurges $10 million to rename Border Force – 26 August 2015

472. Cuts $10 million from a grant to support sufferers of an incurable disease – 26 August 2015

471. Breaks an election promise to “make no changes to the GST” by extending it to purchases made online – 21 August 2015

470. Spends over $20 million on an advertising campaign to sell it’s free trade agreement with China – 19 August 2015

469. Tries to introduce laws to stop citizens exercising their legal rights to stop big developments that damage the environment – 19 August 2015

468. Allows Scott Morrison to describe paid parental leave as a “first world issue” – 17 August 2015

467. Asks for a list of national security related things to be announced weekly until the election – 14 August 2015 

466. Blocks a conscience vote on  same sex marriage – 11 August 2015

465. Reduces Australia’s carbon emissions reduction target – 11 August 2015

464. Oversees an inquiry that recommends cutting penalty rates, lowering the minimum wage, individual contracts and giving employers more power over workers – 4 August 2015

463. Scuttles a proposal from Indigenous leaders for constitutional recognition – 3 August 2015

462. Backs speaker Bronwyn Bishop despite revelations she has rorted her travel entitlements multiple times – 31 July 2015

461. Dramatically increases the cost of applying for a divorce – 14 July 2015

460. Bans the Clean Energy Finance Corporation from investing in roof top solar panels and other small scale solar energy – 12 July 2015

459. Directs the Clean Energy Finance Corporation to stop investing in wind power – 12 July 2015

458. Launches a review of the ABC program QandA – 29 June 2015

457. Closes off the possibility of High Court challenges to offshore detention – 25 June 2015

456. Cuts the pension for low and middle income earners – 24 June 2015

455. Establishes a Commissioner for Wind Farms – 24 June 2015

454. Slashes the renewable energy target – 24 June 2015

453. Signs a free trade agreement with China which allows companies who have a 15% Chinese investor to import 100% overseas workers, undermines Australians safety and environmental standards and allows companies to sue the Australian government – 16 June 2015

452. Gags doctors, teachers and nurses from speaking out about conditions in detention centres with new laws imposing jail for speaking publicly – 4 June 2015

451. Deregulates the shipping industry removing the requirement of companies to pay Australian wages and conditions – 26 May 2015

450. Muzzles the Freedom of Information watchdog – 26 May 2015

449. Refuses to join the international effort to resettle refugees in crisis, stating “nope, nope, nope” – 21 May 2015

448. Gives the Minister for Arts the power to decide what art gets funded – 12 May 2015

447. Makes medicines more expensive for the chronically ill – 12 May 2015

446. Stops Family Tax benefit B to parents when their child turns 6 – 12 May 2015

445. Removes childcare benefits from parents who cannot work or study – 12 May 2015

444. Abolishes another 71 net jobs in the Federal public sector – 12 May 2015

443. Scraps funding to the academic website “The Conversation” – 12 May 2015

442. Cuts $12.5 million from the National Heritage Trust – 12 May 2015

441. Cuts $140 000 from the Refugee Council of Australia – 12 May 2015

440. Cuts $72.5 million for health scholarships – 12 May 2015 

439. Reduces the take home pay of those who work for charities and NGOs but cutting tax benefits – 12 May 2015

438. Cuts $3.6 million from Screen Australia – 12 May 2015

437. Slashes $403 million from the Australia Council – 12 May 2015

436. Decimates aid to Africa with a 70% cut – 12 May 2015

435. Cuts aid to Indonesia by 50% – 12 May 2015

434. Gouges almost $2 Billion from health – 12 May 2015

433. Kicks 80 000 or 46% of parents off the paid parental leave scheme and labels them “rorter” – 10 May 2015 

432. Scraps a Ministerial directive for the Australian Federal Police to consider Australians opposition to the death penalty – 1 May 2015

431. Gives $4 million to an academic who’s views align with the Prime Minister’s on climate change – 16 April 2015

430. Spends millions on a widespread advertising campaign to sell their “Intergenerational Report” which is discredited by the celebrity scientist who they paid to sell it – 15 April 2015

429. Fails to act on allegations of physical and sexual abuse of asylum seekers on Nauru despite knowing about it for over a year – 9 April 2015

428. Introduces laws to retain the metadata of Australians that 85 security and policing agencies can access – 26 March 2015

427. Axes the National Produce Monitoring System which monitors chemicals in Australia’s domestic food – 18 March 2015

426. Threatens to sack 1700 researchers if the Senate did not pass their bill to deregulate universities – 15 March 2015

425. Dismisses Indigenous culture by describing living in remote communities as a “lifestyle choice” – 11 March 2015

424. Violates the UN Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment and has found to have done so multiple times by the U.N. – 9 March 2015

423. Defends the decision of the LNP to hold an International Women’s Day lunch at a club that only accepts male members – 4 March 2015

422. Dismisses the inquiry into the treatment of children in immigration detention as a “political stitch up” and attacks Gillian Triggs the President of the Human Rights Commission – 24 February 2014

421. Tried to induce the President of the Human Rights Commission Gillian Triggs to resign before her report outlining the abuse of children in Australia’s immigration detention centres was released – 24 February 2015.

420. Pays $3.32 million to the lead lawyer for the Royal Commission into trade unions for under two years work – 19 February 2015

419. Puts at risk efforts to halt the executions of two Australians in Bali by threatening Indonesia with aid funding  – 19 February 2015

418. Bungles the tendering process for building submarines threatening hundreds of jobs – 19 February 2015

417. Dismisses a damning report into the impacts of mandatory detention of children seeking asylum as partisan and politicised, and says the Human Rights Commission “should be ashamed of themselves” – 12 February 2015

416. Breaks promise to lead a “strong, stable, accountable” government – 09 February 2015

415. Dumps his signature paid parental leave policy – 2 February 2015

414. Awards a Knighthood to Prince Philip on Australia Day – 26 January 2015

413. Undermines court system by commenting on the bail decision of a Victorian magistrate – January 16, 2015

412. Announces a freezes to the annual increases to the Medicare schedule – 12 January 2015

411. Attempts to undermine Medicare by slashing the amount doctors get for consultations – 12 January 2015

410. Votes against a UN resolution calling for the end of the Israeli occupation of Palestine – 31 December 2014

409. Spends millions on market research and TV advertisements promoting their proposal to uncap university fees – 28 December 2014

408. Slashes funding to community organisations that support tens of thousands of vulnerable families and people in crisis causing 2500 community workers to lose their jobs two days before Christmas – 22 December 2014

407. Defunds peak organisations who advocate for the poor and oppressed including Homelessness Australia, Financial Counselling Australia and National Shelter – 22 December 2014

406. Appoints a climate skeptic who praised Rupert Murdoch as the “starting point for green innovation” to the position of parliamentary secretary to the minister of the environment – 21 December 2014

405. Backflips on clamping down on multinational companies who shift profits to avoid paying taxes in Australia – 17 December 2014

404. Blows out the deficit to $40.4 Billion – 15 December 2014

403. Abolishes the Australian Workforce and Productivity Agency – 15 December 2015

402. Ceases payments to apprentices under Support for Adult Australian Apprenticeships program – 15 December 2014

401. Cuts funding for the National Trade Cadetships programme – 15 December 2014

400. Slashes another $3.7 billion from overseas aid – 15 December 2014

399. Cuts 26 more government bodies down to 6 – 15 December 2014

398. Abolishes the Operational Working Party which advises government on the needs of the ex-service community – 15 December 2014 

397. Cancels the National Health, Aged and Community Care Forum – 15 December 2014

396. Abolishes the Current and Former Members of the ADF Emerging Issues Forum – 15 December 2014

395. Abolishes the Australian Financial Centre Taskforce – 15 December 2014

394. Silences the National Injury Insurance Scheme Advisory Group – 15 December 2014

393. Abolishes the National Children and Family Roundtable – 15 December 2014

392. Silences the Minister’s Dementia Advisory Group – 15 December 2014

391. Cancels the Healthy Life Better Ageing Committee – 15 December 2014

390. Annuls the Aged Care Reform Implementation Council – 15 December 2014

389. Cancels the Aged Care Planning Advisory Committee – 15 December 2014

388. Abolishes the Aged Care Standards and Accreditation Agency Ltd – 15 December 2014

387. Cancels the Indigenous Development effectiveness Initiative Steering Committee – 15 December 2014

386. Abolishes the First Peoples Education Advisory Group – 15 December 2014

385. Cancels the Australia in the Asian Century Advisory Board – 15 December 2014

384. Annuls the Regional Australia Standing Council – 15 December 2014

383. Dismantles the Northern Australia Ministerial Forum – 15 December 2014

382. Abolishes the Marine Council – 15 December 2014

381. Terminates the Expert Advisory Panel on Northern Australia – 15 December 2014

380. Silences the Northern Australia Indigenous Experts Forum on sustainable Economic Development – 15 December 2014

379. Annuls the Infrastructure Coordinator – 15 December 2014

378. Abolishes the Technical Advisory Committee for the Coal Mining Abatement Technology Support Package – 15 December 2014

377. Abolishes the Gas Market – Industry Reference Group – 15 December 2014

376. Disbands the Department of Human Services Council on Strategy and Innovation – 15 December 2014

375. Disbands the Anti-Doping Research Panel – 15 December 2014

374. Abolishes the Tourism Quality Council of Australia – 15 December 2014

373. Disbands the Australia Awards Board – 15 December 2014

372. Abolishes the National Marine Mammal Scientific Committee – 15 December 2014

371. Disbands the National Marine Mammal Advisory Committee – 15 December 2014

370. Abolishes the National Landscapes Reference Committee – 15 December 2014

369. Gets rid of the Indigenous Water Advisory Committee – 15 December 2014

368. Disbands the Iconic Sites Taskforce – 15 December 2014

367. Abolishes the Fuel Standards Consultative Committee – 15 December 2014

366. Abolishes the Emissions Intensive – Trade Exposed Expert Advisory Committee – 15 December 2014

365. Disbands the Commonwealth Environmental Water Stakeholder Reference Panel – 15 December 2014

364. Abolishes the COAG Standing Council on Environment and Water – 15 December 2014

363. Abolishes the Bureau of Meteorology Water Accounting Standards Board – 15 December 2014

362. Abolishes the Antarctic Science Advisory Committee – 15 December 2014

361. Cancels the COAG Select Council on Workplace Relations – 15 December 2014

360. Wipes out the Education Investment Fund Advisory Board – 15 December 2014

359. Dismantles the Australian Qualifications Framework Council – 15 December 2014

358. Abolishes the Strategic Cross-sectoral Data Committee for Early Childhood, Education and Training – 15 December 2014

357. Dismantles the Vietnam Veterans Education Centre – 15 December 2014

356. Abolishes the research working group – 15 December 2014

355. Abolishes the Peacekeepers Study Advisory Committee – 15 December 2014

354. Abolishes the Medicines Advice and Therapeutics Education Services Writing Group – 15 December 2014

353. Abolishes the Medicines Advice and Therapeutics Education Services Veterans Reference Group – 15 December 2014

352. Abolishes the Medicines Advice and Therapeutics Education Services Practitioner Reference Group – 15 December 2014

351. Abolishes the Gulf War Study Advisory Committee – 15 December 2014

350. Abolishes the eHealth Technical Advisory Group – 15 December 2014

349. Abolishes the Community Nursing Clinical Advisory Committee – 15 December 2014

348. Abolishes the Australian National Memorial New Zealand Advisory Panel – 15 December 2014

347. Abolishes the Anzac Centenary Public Fund Board – 15 December 2014

346. Abolishes the Official Establishments Trust – 15 December 2014

345. Abolishes the Australian Council of Local Government – 15 December 2014

344. Abolishes the Urban Policy Forum – 15 December 2014

343. Abolishes the National Disaster Recovery Taskforce – 15 December 2014

342. Abolishes the Local Government Ministers’ Forum – 15 December 2014

341. Abolishes the Inter-Jurisdictional Working Group – 15 December 2014

340. Abolishes the Bureau of Resources and Energy Economics Advisory Board – 15 December 2014

339. Abolishes the Pharmaceutical Industry Working Group – 15 December 2014

338. Abolishes the National Precincts Board – 15 December 2014

337. Abolishes the Fair Work Building and Construction Independent Assessor – 15 December 2014

336. Abolishes the Standing Council on School Education and Early Childhood Joint Working Group to Provide Advice on Students with Disability – 15 December 2014

335. Abolishes the Department of Defence CEO’s round table – 15 December 2014

334. Abolishes the Committee which was overseeing reform to the repair and maintenance of the Navy’s ships – 15 December 2014

333. Abolishes the Department of Defence Diversity Advisory Group – 15 December 2014

332. Abolishes the Australian Defence Force Financial Services Consumer Council – 15 December 2014

331. Abolishes the Subcommittee on Animal Health Laboratory Standards – 15 December 2014

330. Abolishes the Rabies Preparedness Working Group – 15 December 2014

329. Abolishes the New Test Evaluation Working Group – 15 December 2014

328. Abolishes the National Strategies Working Group – 15 December 2014

327. Abolishes the Laboratories for Emergency Animal Disease Diagnosis and Response Working Group – 15 December 2014

326. Abolishes the National Surveillance and Diagnostics Working Group – 15 December 2014

325. Abolishes the Forestry and Forest Products Committee – 15 December 2014

324. Abolishes the Department of Agriculture – Live Animal Export Division – Industry Government Implementation Group – 15 December 2014

323. Abolishes the Benchmarks Working Group which monitors acute hospital performance – 15 December 2014

322. Abolishes the Australian and New Zealand Standard Diagnostic Procedures Working Group – 15 December 2014

321. Abolishes the Artbank Advisory Committee – 15 December 2014

320. Cuts the Development Allowance Authority – 15 December 2014

319. Cuts the Reconstruction Inspectorate – 15 December 2014

318. Cuts the Inspector of Transport Security – 15 December 2014

317. Cuts the National Advisory for Tertiary Education, Skills and Employment – 15 December 2014

316. Cuts the Health and Hospitals Fund Advisory Board – 15 December 2014

315. Cuts the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority Advisory Board – 15 December 2014

314. Cuts the Climate Adaptation Outlook Independent Expert Group – 15 December 2014

313. Cuts the Biological Diversity Advisory Committee – 15 December 2014

312. Cuts the Australian Antarctic Names and Medals Committee – 15 December 2014

311. Cuts the Antarctic Research Assessment Committee – 15 December 2014

310. Cuts the Forces Entertainment Board – 15 December 2014

309. Cut the Protection Zone Committees – 15 December 2015

308. Cuts the Telework Advisory Panel – 15 December 2014

307. Cuts the Australian Government Solicitor – 15 December 2014

306. Appoints the radically right wing John Lloyd from the Institute of Public Affairs to head the Public Service Commission – 12 December 2014

305. Appoints a former National Party MP who champions an abstinence policy on drugs over harm minimisation to be the new head of the Australian National Council on Drugs – 11 December 2014

304. Imposes a $900 tax on new homes connecting to the NBN breaking election promises on taxes – 11 December 2014

303. The unemployment rate hits 6.3 %,  it has not been this high since 2002 when Tony Abbott was Minister for Employment and Industrial  Relations –  11 December 2014

302. Announces a cut of $5 to the Medicare rebate after he fails to get his $7 Medicare co-payment through the Senate – 9 December 2014 

301. Breaks an election promise to improve transparency by restricting the transparency of overseas travel expenses after media reports on Christopher Pyne’s lavish trip to Europe with his wife  – 9 December 2014

300. Breaks a key election promise to bring in 26 weeks parental leave paid at a working mother’s actual wage – 7 December 2014

299. Introduces special work for the dole rules for regional and remote unemployed people so they have to work twice as many hours as city people in a measure that will mainly affect indigenous people – 6 December 2014 

298. Hands the immigration minister unchecked and unappealable powers to prevent refugees arriving by boat from seeking protection and allows him to return people to the country from which they fled – 4 December 2014

297. Reintroduces temporary protection visas for asylum seekers found to be refugees – 4 December 2014

296. Cuts  CSIRO funding, which means that CSIRO will lose 1/5 of its workforce  – 24 November, 2014

295. Slashes funding to the ABC and SBS resulting in job cuts and the axing of programs including state based 7:30 Report and breaking an election promise 19 November, 2014 

294. Refuses to contribute to the fund Green Climate Fund, which Abbott last year described as  “socialism masquerading as environmentalism” – 17 November, 2014

293. Uses G20 platform to comment on domestic political issues such as the fact people don’t like his $7 GP fee rather than international political issues – 15 November, 2014

292. Describes Australia as “nothing but bush” prior to the arrival of the First Fleet when addressing a breakfast for British Prime Minister, David Cameron – 14 November 2014  

291. Breaks promise to  achieve a surplus in the Government’s first year in office, instead overseeing an estimated $51 billion deterioration in revenue – 11 November, 2014

290. Describes coal as “good for humanity” while opening a coal mine in Queensland  13 October, 2014

289. Extends the Royal Commission into Trade Unions for another 12 months and expands the terms of reference despite their being no requests for either – 09 October, 2014

288. Cuts spending on science and innovation to the lowest levels since the data was first published – 07 October, 2014

287. Spends an estimated $500 million yearly participating in the conflict in the Middle East –  07 October, 2014

286. Limits scrutiny of ASIO, expands protections from prosecution for ASIO officers, and allows ASIO greater powers for surveillance with reduced requirements for warrants  – 30 September, 2014

285. Signs a deal with Cambodia to accept Australia’s refugees for a payment of $40 million over 4 years – 26 September, 2014

284. Breaks an election promise to a publish a proposal for constitutional recognition for Indigenous people and establish a bipartisan process to try to bring about recognition as soon as possible within the first 12 months of Government – 19 September 2014.

283. Breaks election promise to  build replacement submarines in South Australian shipyards, spending more than $20 billion on Japanese submarines instead – 8 September, 2014

282. Fails to provide adequate medical care to asylum seeker Hamid Kehazaei who died after developing an infection from a cut on his foot – 5 September 2014

281. Delays superannuation increases for seven years costing workers thousands of dollars in retirement savings2 September 2014

280. Kills the Low Income Super Contribution payment and the Superannuation Guarantee which aimed to boost the retirement savings of 3.6 million workers who earn $37,000 per year or less2 September 2014

279. Repeals the mining tax on the profits of big coal and iron ore companies – 2 September 2014

278. Bans secular workers from the school chaplaincy program – 27 August 2014

277. Refuses temporary visitors visas for Sri Lankan trade unionists to attend a union conference in Australia because they “do not have enough personal wealth” – 25 August 2014

276. Unemployment hits highest level in 12 years – 7 August 2014

275. Breaks an election promise to amend the race hate laws – 6 August 2014

274. Directs all government departments to disclose every contact with every union for any reason over the last decade to the Royal Commission – 28 July 2014

273. Allows the suspension of payments to parents whose children do not attend school in the Northern Territory – 19 July 2014

272. Axes the carbon tax with no viable policy to address climate change or Australia’s emission targets – 17 July, 2014

271. Risks up to $1 billion in revenue through job cuts at the ATO – July 15, 2014

270. Cuts all funding to Vibe Australia, the Indigenous organisation responsible for creating and producing the Deadly Awards, Deadly Vibe and InVibe magazines, Deadly Sounds radio, Move It Mob Style TV and deadlyvibe.com.au –  July 14, 2014

269. Detains 153 asylum seekers at sea on board a customs ship for a month, despite questions about the legality of this action – July 12, 2014

268. Offends China and many Australians by praising the “skill and honour” of Japanese soliders who killed 22 000 Australians and hundreds of thousands of Chinese during World War II – 9 July 2014

267. Hands over 41 Sri Lankan asylum seekers to the custody of Sri Lankan authorities after screening them at sea and transferring them while still on the water – 07 July, 2014 

266. Creates a strategic communications branch employing 37 people  and costing $4.7 million each year, to oversee communications in the department of Prime Minister and Cabinet despite saying at the 2013 launch of the Liberal Party’s book on ALP waste, that they would spend less on spin than the previous government  – July 05, 2014

265. Describes Australia as ‘unsettled’ before the British arrived, during an address to the Australia-Melbourne Institute Conference – 04 July, 2014

264. Grants the Immigration Minister power over the granting of permanent residence allowing him to personally decide the conditions of the test and his decisions will not be subject to appeal  – 03 July, 2014

263. Breaks a promise not to grant permanent permanent residency to people arriving by boat  by granting a visa to a least one refugee – 03 July, 2014

262. Prohibits Community Legal Centres from using Government funding to advocate for policy or law reform – 02 July, 2014

261. Appoints a former Liberal MP and a conservative columnist and vocal opponent of the ABC to the ABC and SBS appointments panel – 02 July, 2014

260. Strikes out protections for consumers of financial advice before the report into the Commonwealth Bank of Australia financial planning scandal is tabled, which recommends a Royal Commission into the bank to investigate allegations of fraud, forgery and a management cover-up – 01 July, 2014

259. Refuses to confirm the existence of two boatloads of refugees reported to be currently on board customs vessels. The Government previously denied the vessels were in trouble and refuses to comment on whether the refugees will be landing in Australia – 30 June, 2014

258. Revokes the residential determination of two asylum seekers from Vietnam currently in high school in Adelaide and removes them to a detention centre, resulting in up to 7 other children, also in school, running away for fear of the same fate – 28 June, 2014

257. Cuts Dementia and Severe Behaviours Supplement, a payment to those who provide care for people with severe behavioural  and psychological symptoms of dementia – 26 June, 2014 

256.  Breaks promise that no public servants will be forced into redundancy as it is revealed that staff in Treasury in Finance will be made involuntarily redundant  – 24 June, 2014

255. Seeks to reintroduce Temporary Protection Visas after the High Court strikes down the Government’s attempt to limit the number of permanent visas available each year  – 22 June 2014.

254. Refuses to halt return of refugees to war-torn Iraq – 18 June, 2014

253. Abandons the long-held, bipartisan position of referring to Palestinian land captured in 1967 as occupied – 06 June, 2014 

252. Abolishes the Corporations and Markets Advisory Committee, which has, for 25 years,  investigated gaps in Australia’s corporate and financial markets law  and recommended ways to close them – 05 June, 2014

251. Excludes Australian shipyards from a major new contract, sending jobs offshore and threatening the industry in Australia – 05 June, 2014 

250. Cuts funding to the peak refugee organisation the Refugee Council of Australia – 30 May 2014

249. Takes money from the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse and gives it to the Royal Commission into the Home Insulation Scheme – 28 May 2014

248. Breaks promise that no public servants will be forced into redundancy after revelations that public servants in the Department of Industry have been made involuntarily redundant – 19 May 2014

247. Scraps the National Water Commission – 13 May, 2014

246. Abolishes funding for Building Australia’s Future Workforce – 13 May, 2014

245. Abolishes the Get Reading Programme – 13 May, 2014

244. Scraps the annual subsidy to local ethanol producers – 13 May 2014

243. Slashes the Biodiversity Fund – 13 May, 2014

242. Cuts the Education Department’s Online Diagnostic Tools Programme – 13 May, 2014

241. Abolishes the Australian Organ and Tissue Donation and Transplantation Authority which was established to encourage organ donation – 13 May, 2014

240.  Introduces annual reviews for veterans receiving military compensation payments due to illness or injury – 13 May, 2014

239. Terminates the Office of Water Science research programme – 13 May, 2014

238. Abolishes the Commonwealth Human Rights Education Grant – 13 May 2014

237. Abolishes funding to the Exotic Disease Preparedness Programme – 13 May 2014

236. Slashes funding from the Indigenous Health Budget – 13 May 2014

235. Cuts funding for Indigenous language support – 13 May 2014

234. Cuts funding to the Torres Strait Regional Authority – 13 May 2014

233. Abolishes the Congress of Australia’s First Peoples, the only elected representative body for Indigenous Australians – 13 May 2014

232. Breaks election promise and slashes funding to Landcare – 13 May 2014

231. Abolishes the National Rental Affordability Scheme – 13 May 2014

230. Cuts funding from the corporate regulator ASIC which oversees the financial sector – 13 May 2014

229. Axes the first home buyers savings scheme – 13 May 2014

228. Reduces funding to the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency – 13 May 2014

227. Abolishes the Improving Educational Outcomes Programme – 13 May 2014

226. Cuts funding to the Child Care Early Learning Projects and the Professional Support Program which assist childcare workers gain skills – 13 May 2014

225. Reduces funding to the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership – 13 May 2014

224. Cut the Research Training Scheme, with tertiary education providers to introduce student contributions for higher degrees – 13 May 2014

223. Ends the development of the Australian Baccalaureate – 13 May 2014

222. Cuts higher education reward funding – 13 May 2014

221. Cuts the Australian National University’s HC Coombs Policy Forum – 13 May 2014

220. Cuts Australian Research Council funding – 13 May 2014

219. Abolishes tax break for mature age workers and replaces it with a payment for employing people over 50 who have been on Newstart or the DSP for more than 6 months – 13 May 2014

218. Cuts an incentive program for graduates to take up work in regional locations of need – 13 May 2014

217. Axes the National Partnership Agreement on Certain Concessions for Pensioners and Seniors Card Holders which supports state and territory concessions for senior citizens including energy rebates. – 13 May 2014

216. Kills off four grant programmes including the the Australian Community Food Safety Campaign and Outreach Support Services for Criminalised Women – 13 May 2014

215. Cuts $2.3 million in contribution to the World Health Organisation – 13 May 2014

214. Abolishes the Australian Interactive Games Fund which helped support local video game developers – 13 May 2014

213. Breaks a promise not to cuts funding to health by dramatically cutting hospital funding – 13 May 2014

212. Cuts $240 million over four years to community programs that support poor, sick or disadvantaged people – 13 May 2014

211. Cuts $25 million over 4 years (a quarter of the total) funding to Community Legal Centres who provide legal support to the poor and disadvantaged – 13 May 2014

210. Cuts the Women in Leadership program – 13 May 2014

209. Breaks a promise to have one million more solar roofs across Australia and at least 25 solar towns – 13 May 2014

208. Breaks a promise to spend $2.55 billion Emissions Reduction Fund by committing less than half this amount in the budget – 13 May 2014

207. Orders the spending of $11.7 million to plan the privatisation of: Defence Housing Australia, the Royal Australian Mint and the registry function of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission – 13 May 2014

206. Announces 3000 job loses at the Australian Tax Office – 13 May 2014

205. Freezes the Family Tax Benefit A at a set income level regardless of the number of children – 13 May 2014

204. Cuts the Family Tax Benefit B end-of-year supplement by 15% – 13 May 2014

203. Reduces funding for the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation – 13 May 2014

202. Reduces funding to the Australian Institute for Marine Science – 13 May 2014

201. Scraps a range of grant programs aimed at funding innovation and start-up businesses, including: Australian Industry Participation; Commercialisation Australia; Enterprise Solutions; Innovation Investment Fund; Industry Innovation Councils; Enterprise Connect; Industry Innovation Precincts; and Textile, Clothing and Footwear Small Business and Building Innovative Capability – 13 May 2014

200. Rips a further $111.4 million over four years out of the operating budget of the CSIRO – 13 May 2014

199. Ceases funding for National ICT Australia, which is a research centre for communications and information technology – 13 May 2014

198. Abolishes Medicare locals – 13 May 2014

197. Reduces payments to people under 35 with a disability who cannot find employment if they could work more than eight hours a week – 13 May 2014

196. Mandates religious education in schools by taking away the option for schools to opt for a secular social worker instead – 13 May 2014

195. Abolishes the ABC’s disability communities website Ramp Up – 13 May 2014

194. Abolishes the Disability Discrimination Commissioner – 13 May 2014

193. Abolishes the Better Schools Centre for Quality Teaching and Learning – 13 May 2014

192. Dismantles the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare and will establish a health productivity and performance commission – 13 May 2014

191. Abolishes the Seniors Supplement – 13 May 2014

190. Axes the tax break for people with dependent spouses – 13 May 2014

189. Axes the Diagnostic Imaging Quality Programme – 13 May 2014

188. Ceases the Dental Flexible Grants Program – 13 May 2014

187. Axes the Charles Sturt University’s dental and oral health clinics – 13 May 2014

186. Axes funding for the nursing and allied health scholarships in Tasmania – 13 May 2014

185. Defers 13 Partners in Recovery programs which help people with severe and persistent mental illness and complex support needs – 13 May 2014

184. Cuts funding to the National Anti-Tobacco Campaign – 13 May 2014

183. Cuts Australia’s Animal Welfare Strategy – 13 May 2014

182. Abolishes Health Workforce Australia and cuts the expansion of the Clinical Training Funding Program – 13 May 2014

181. Axes the National Partnership Agreement on Preventive Health – 13 May 2014

180. Defers the National Partnership Agreement for adult public dental services until July 2015 – 13 May 2014

179. Reduces the Medicare benefit for optometry services and allows optometrists to charge more – 13 May 2014

178. Abolishes the GP Education and Training Limited and ceasing the Pre-vocational GP Placements Scheme – 13 May 2014

177. Axes industry and community clean energy programs include the Low Emissions Technology Demonstration Fund, the National Low Emission Coal Initiative, Energy Efficiency Programmes, the National Solar Schools Plan, Energy Efficiency Information Grants and Low Carbon Communities – 13 May 2014

176. Scraps The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) which was set up to support new and emerging renewable technologies and in doing so breaks an election promise – 13 May 2014

175. Scraps the Housing Help for Seniors scheme which provided assistance to older Australians – 13 May 2014

174. Pulls $2.5 billion from aged care, including $1.7 billion from home based support such as Meals on Wheels – 13 May 2014

173. Cuts the benefit for unemployed people under 25 by moving them onto the Youth Allowance – 13 May 2014

172. Kills off the Gonski school funding vision by cutting future funding by $30 billion – 13 May 2014

171. Reduces Medicare and Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme safety nets – 13 May 2014

170. Breaks a promise to make no cuts to health with a $368 million cut from preventative health measures – 13 May 2014

169. Cuts the Family Tax Benefit A end-of-year supplement by 17% – 13 May 2014

168. Increases the fuel excise twice a year by indexing it to CPI – 13 May 2014

167. Forces students to repay their debt earlier by lowering the wage they need to earn before payments kick in – 13 May 2014

166. Increases debt for students by increasing the interest on their fees – 13 May 2014

165. Makes it harder for retirees to access the Commonwealth Seniors Health Card – 13 May 2014

164. Guts the Australia Council and Screen Australia by cutting $87 million for the Arts – 13 May 2014

163. Forces people under 30 to work for the dole if they want to receive any financial support after a waiting period of six months with no financial support – 13 May 2014

162. Imposes a six month wait for people under 30s to receive unemployment benefits – 13 May 2014

161. Cuts the Family Tax Benefit Part B – 13 May 2014

160. Cuts the old age pension by indexing it to CPI instead of wages – 13 May 2014

159. Increases the pension age to 70 from 2035 – 13 May 2014

158. Imposes a $5 increase on the cost of all medicines available under the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (80c for concession card holders) – 13 May 2014

157. Cuts the ‘Tools for the Trade’ program which helped apprentices buy their tools, and replacing it with a loan scheme apprentices will have to repay – 13 May 2014

156. Caps the amount of money workers can recoup in entitlements if their employer becomes insolvent or bankrupt to 16 weeks – 13 May 2014

155. Breaks a promise to only cut the foreign aid budget by $4.5 billion and cuts it by $7.9 billion instead – 13 May 2014

154. Axes funding to the Australian Youth Affairs Coalition, the national peak body for young people- 13 May 2014

153. Slashes Disability Support Pensions by indexing to inflation – 13 May 2014

152. Abolishes the highly successful Youth Connections program that supports young people who have not completed, or are at risk of not completing Year 12 or equivalent qualifications also costing hundreds of community sector jobs – 13 May 2014

151. Breaks a promise of “no new taxes” by introducing a fuel levy – 13 May 2014

150. Announces the sacking of 16,500 public sector workers as whole Departments are abolished despite promising only 12,000 job losses – 13 May 2014

149. Cuts $500 million from indigenous programs over five years – 13 May 2014

148. Breaks a promise of “no new taxes” by introducing a deficit tax rise of two percentage points for people earning more than $180,000 a year – 13 May 2014

147. Scrapping a net $1.2 billion in tuition subsidies for universities – 13 May 2014

146. Scraps the Australia Network, Australia’s international television service broadcast across our region that provides news and current affairs from an Australian perspective – 13 May 2014

145. Breaks promise of “no cuts to the ABC or SBS” by cutting $43.5 million from the ABC and SBS – 13 May 2014

144. Tried to undermine Medicare by announcing a $7 fee increase for GP visits – 13 May 2014

143. Tears up the Federal Government’s agreement with states and territories to help fund increasing health costs – 13 May 2014

142. Tries to abolish caps on university fees, meaning universities will be able to charge whatever they like for degrees – 13 May 2014

141. Abolishes the COAG Reform Council — which provides information to Governments so they can track the performance of their programs – 13 May 2014

140. Sacks the National People with Disability and Carers Council — which pushed for and then helped build the NDIS – 13 May 2014

139. Releases the Commission of Audit report which recommends savage budget cuts that would negatively affect every Australian – 1 May 2014

138. Breaks a promise to introduce the paid parental leave scheme he took to the election – 30 April 2014

137. Spends $12.4 billion on new fighter jets whilst claiming a budget “emergency” and preparing to make big cuts to health and welfare – 23 April 2014

136. Abolishes the research and development tax incentives board – 11 April 2014

135. Begins dismantling GP Super clinics – 8 April 2014

134. Cuts 480 jobs from the Environment Department who are responsible for protecting places such as Kakadu, Antarctica and the Great Barrier Reef – 7 April 2014

133. Forbids public servants from making political comments online, even anonymously, and instructs them to report on colleagues who do – 6 April 2014

132. Establishes a secret, publicly funded “hit squad” to target political opponents led by the man who provided a “chaff bag” for Alan Jones to auction at a Young Liberal fundraiser – 1 April 2014

131. Imposes fees and charges on people who become bankrupt – 1 April 2014

130. Axes free legal assistance for asylum seekers – 31 March 2014

129. Attempts to defund Ethical Clothing Australia that worked with industry to protect outworkers in the textile and clothing industry from exploitation and abandons the Governments ethical procurement guidelines – 30 March 2014

128. Opposes a UN resolution to conduct war crimes inquiry in Sri Lanka – 28 March 2014

127. Closes all Medicare offices on Saturdays – 26 March 2014

126. Brings back the awards of knights and dames which were abolished in 1986 – 25 March 2014

125. Cuts 400 jobs from the industry department – 25 March 2014

124. Ensures a human rights enquiry into the Manus Island detention centre is shut down and human rights lawyers are denied access to the centre – 23 March 2014

123. Abolishes one third of the jobs in Treasury costing approximately 300 jobs – 21 March 2014

122. Cuts welfare payments to orphans of soldiers – 16 March 2014

121. Moves to deny funding to artists or events that refuse corporate sponsorship for ethical reasons – 15 March 2014

120. Cuts hundreds of jobs at the CSIRO – 14 March 2014

119. Reopens 457 visa loophole to allow employers to hire an unlimited number of workers without scrutiny – 12 March 2014

118. Overturns a ban on cattle grazing in the Victorian Alpine National Park – 6 March 2014

117. Frustrated and defeated an attempt at the UN to highlight the humanitarian consequences of nuclear war – 5 March 2014

116. Axes funding earmarked to save the Sumatran rhinoceros from extinction – 28 February 2014

115. Introduces legislation to allow people aged between 17-24 years old to work for half the minimum wage and be exempted from all other work rights including health and safety laws and protections should they be injured at work – 26 February 2014

114. Axes funding to Aboriginal Early Childhood Support and Learning Incorporated, the only Indigenous peak body advising on early childhood issues for Indigenous people in NSW – 25 February, 2014

113. Misleads the Australian public about what occurred on Manus Island when asylum seekers were attacked killing one person and injuring seventy-seven. Once the information was known to be untrue, waited five days to correct the record – 25 February 2014

112. Contravenes 113 years of established practice by moving to release the previous Government’s confidential cabinet papers to the Royal Commission into the Pink Batts scheme – 22 February 2014

111. Scraps food grants program for small farmers – 21 February 2014

110. Pressured SPC Ardmona to cut the pay and conditions for workers in return for Government money – 20 February 2014

109. Blames carbon pricing for the close of Alcoa smelters and rolling mills and the loss of nearly 1000 jobs, despite the fact the company states it had no bearing on their decision – 19 February 2014

108. Breaches the privacy and puts in danger around 10, 000 asylum seekers and their families by releasing their personal details on the Department of Immigration website – 19 February 2014

107. Fails to ensure the safety of asylum seekers in our care on Manus Island who were subjected to a vicious attack, which left one person dead and seventy-seven seriously injured – 18 February 2014

106. Reverses the previous government’s decision to care for refugee children who are without an adult family member (ie unaccompanied minors) in the community and sends them to detention centres in Nauru – 17 February 2014

105. Removes poverty reduction from the goals of the foreign affairs budget –February 17, 2014

104. Appoints a climate change skeptic to head a review of our renewable energy target – 17 February 2014

103. Pays hundreds of indigenous workers in his Department up to $19 000 less than non-indigenous workers doing the same job and cuts the budget for the representative body the National Congress of Australia’s First Peoples causing two-thirds of the staff to lose their jobs – 15 February 2014

102. Breaks a promise to provide fibre-to-the-premises for all Tasmanians for the National Broadband Network – 13 February 2014

101. Unemployment rate jumps to highest in more than 10 years – 13 February 2014

100. Lies to the Australian public about the reasons Toyota gave for their decision to close in order to blame the workers and their union – 12 February 2014

99. Takes down a website providing information to the Australian public on the ingredients and nutritional content of foods. It is later revealed that the person in the Minister’s office who gave this directive is married to a lobbyist from the junk food industry and was still a share holder in their lobbying company – 11 February 2014

98. Destroys the Australian car manufacturing industry by refusing to provide any industry assistance leading to the decision of Toyota to shut costing up to 30 000 jobs – 10 February 2014

97. Launches a Royal Commission into unions – 10 February 2014

96. Attempts to reintroduce temporary visas for asylum seekers found to be fleeing persecution preventing them ever settling in Australia and retrospectively applies them to 20 000 people. This is stopped in the Senate twice by the ALP and The Greens – 7 February 2014

95. Supports a reduction of penalty rates and other Award minimums in a submission to the Fair Work Commission’s review of all Awards – 4 February 2014

94. Lies to the Australian public about the wages and working conditions of factory workers at SPC Ardmona in Shepparton and uses this incorrect information to blame them for their job insecurity – 4 February 2014

93. Launches an “efficiency study” into ABC and the SBS – 30 January 2014

92. Cuts the wages of Australian troops deployed overseas by almost $20 000 per solider – 29 January 2014

91. Intervenes on the side of Toyota to support cutting Australian workers wages and conditions – 28 January 2014

90. Privatises the 104 year old Australian Valuation Office costing nearly 200 jobs – 24 January 2014

89. Seeks to wind back the World Heritage listing of Tasmania’s forests – 23 January 2014

88. Withdraws funding from Operation Newstart, an early intervention program to help vulnerable young people – 22 January 2014

87. Exempts Western Australia from national environment laws to facilitate shark culling – 21 January 2014

86. Defunds all international environmental programs, the International Labour Organisation and cuts funding to a range of international aid programs run by NGOs such as Save the Children, Oxfam, CARE Australia and Caritas – 18 January 2014

85. Violates Indonesia’s territorial sovereignty while turning back asylum seeker boats – 17 January 2014

84. Politicises the national school curriculum by appointing a former Liberal staffer and a Coalition supporter, both critics of the current curriculum to conduct a review – 10 January 2014.

83. Directs that people already found to be refugees who arrived by boat be given the lowest priority for family reunion – 8 January 2014

82. Fails to contradict or take any action against a member of his government, Senator Cory Bernardi, who makes divisive statements about: abortion, “non-traditional” families and their children, same sex couples, couples who use IVF and calls for parts of WorkChoices to be reintroduced – 6 January 2014

81. Scraps funding for the Jewish Holocaust Centre –January 3, 2014

80. Devastates Australia’s contribution to overseas aid by cutting $4.5 billion from the budget, causing vital programs supporting those in extreme poverty in our region to collapse – 1 January 2014

79. Drastically reduces tax breaks for small business and fails to publicise it – 1 January 2014

78. Appoints Tim Wilson, a Liberal Party member and Policy Director of a right-wing think tank to the position of Commissioner at the Human Rights Commission even though this think tank argued for the Commission to be abolished – 23 December 2013

77. Approves private health fund premium increases of an average 6.2% a year – 23 December 2013

76. Breaks his promise to provide the promised customs vessel to monitor whaling operations in the Southern Ocean – 23 December 2013

75. Requests the delisting of World Heritage status for Tasmanian forests – 21 December 2013

74. Cuts funding to the Energy Efficiency Opportunities Programme which makes it mandatory for large energy using businesses to improve their efficiency –17 December, 2013

73. Breaks a promise to make no cuts to health by cutting $150 million from hospital and health services – 17 December 2013.

72. Scraps the Home Energy Saver Scheme which helps struggling low income households cut their electricity bills – 17 December 2013

71. Defunds the Public Interest Advocacy Centre whose objectives are to work for a fair, just and democratic society by taking up legal cases public interest issues – 17 December 2013

70. Defunds the Environmental Defenders Office which is a network of community legal centres providing free advice on environmental law – 17 December 2013

69. Axes funding for animal welfare – 17 December 2013

68. Breaks his election promise of no cuts to education by cutting funding for trade training centres in schools – 17 December 2013

67. Abolishes the AusAID graduate program costing 38 jobs – 17 December 2013

66. Cuts Indigenous legal services by $13.4 million. This includes $3.5 million from front line domestic violence support services, defunding the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Services and abolishing all policy and law reform positions across the country – 17 December 2013

65. Abolishes the position of co-ordinator-general for remote indigenous services – 17 December 2013

64. Breaks his promise to unequivocally support the NDIS by changing the name of NDIS “launch sites” to “trial sites” and flags cuts to funding – 17 December 2013

63. Abolishes the National Office for Live Music along with the live music ambassadors – 17 December 2013

62. Cuts $2.5 million from community radio – 17 December 2013

61. Weakens the ministerial code of conduct to let ministers keep shares in companies – 16 December 2013

60. Disbands the independent Immigration Health Advisory Group for asylum seekers – 16 December 2013

59. Dumps the National Occupational Licensing Scheme which was designed to increase productivity by making it easier for skilled workers to work interstate – 14 December 2013

58. Axes $4.5 million from charities and community groups for the Building Multicultural Communities Program – 13 December 2013

57. Starts dismantling Australia’s world leading marine protection system – 13 December 2013

56. Scraps the COAG Standing Council on Environment and Water – 13 December 2013

55. Breaks his NBN election promise of giving all Australians access to 25 megabits per second download speeds by 2016 – 12 December 2013

54. Overturns the “critically endangered” listing of the Murray Darling Basin – 11 December 2013

53. Dares Holden to leave Australia. Holden responds by announcing its closure which costs Australians tens of thousands of jobs – 11 December 2013

52. Approves Clive Palmer’s mega coal mine in the Galilee Basin which opponents say will severely damage Great Barrier Reef – 11 December 2013

51. Demands that the few childcare workers who got pay rises “hand them back” – 10 December 2013

50. Approves the largest coal port in the world in the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area – 10 December 2013

49. Removes the community’s right to challenge decisions where the government has ignored expert advice on threatened species impacts – 9 December 2013

48. Downgrades national environment laws by giving approval powers to state premiers – 9 December 2013

47. Undermines Australia’s democracy by signing a free trade agreement with South Korea allowing corporations to sue the Australian Government – 6 December 2013

46. Damages our diplomatic relationship with our nearest neighbour East Timor – 5 December 2013

45. Repeals the pokie reform legislation which was designed to combat problem gambling – 4 December 2013

44. Suspends the Wage Connect program, despite it being proven to deliver good outcomes for unemployed people – 3 December 2013

43. Axes funding to the Alcohol and Other Drugs Council of Australia, forcing the 46 year old organisation to close. It is later revealed that a staffer in the Assistant Health Minister’s office had links to the Alcohol Industry – 27 November 2013

42. Breaks his promise to support Gonski and back flips three times – 25 November 2013

41. Shifts Australia’s position at the UN on Israeli settlements – 25 November 2013

40. Damages our diplomatic relationship with the Indonesian Government by refusing to apologise for tapping the phones of their President, his wife and senior Government officials – 23 November 2013

39. Converts crucial Start-Up Scholarships into loans, increasing the debt of 80,000 higher education students by $1.2 billion – 21 November 2013

38. Gifts two navy patrol boats to the Sri Lankan government to stop asylum seekers fleeing the Sri Lankan government – 17 November 2013

37. Introduces a Bill to impose on workers who are elected onto unpaid union committees huge financial penalties and jail terms for breeches of new compliance obligations – 14 November 2013

36. Condones torture by foreign governments by saying “sometimes in difficult circumstances, difficult things happen” – 14 November 2013

35. Hides information from the Parliament and the people about the government’s treatment of asylum seekers – 13 November 2013

34. Abandons Australia’s emission reduction targets – 12 November, 2013

33. Separates a refugee mother from her newborn baby – 10 November 2013

32. Cuts 600 jobs at the CSIRO – 8 November 2013

31. Abolishes Insurance Reform Advisory Group which provided a forum for industry and consumer bodies to discuss insurance industry reform – 8 November 2013

30. Abolishes the Maritime Workforce Development Forum which was an industry body working to build a sustainable skills base for the maritime industry – 8 November 2013

29. Abolishes the High Speed Rail Advisory Group whose job it was to advise Governments on the next steps on implementing high speed rail for eastern Australia – 8 November 2013

28. Abolishes the Advisory Panel on the Marketing in Australia of Infant Formula which for 21 years ensured companies comply with agreements on the advertising of infant formula – 8 November 2013

27. Abolishes the Antarctic Animal Ethics Committee who ensured research on animals in the Antarctic complies with Australian standards – 8 November 2013

26. Abolished the National Steering Committee on Corporate Wrongdoing that for 21 years worked to make sure the law was effectively enforced on corporate criminals – 8 November 2013

25. Abolishes the National Inter-country Adoption Advisory Council which provided expert advice on overseas adoption – 8 November 2013

24. Abolishes International Legal Services Advisory Council which was responsible for working to improve the international performance of Australia’s legal services – 8 November 2013

23. Abolishes the Commonwealth Firearms Advisory Council a group of experts in gun crime and firearms which was set up after the Port Arthur massacre – 8 November 2013

22. Abolishes Australian Animals Welfare Advisory Committee a diverse group of experts advising the Agriculture Minister on animal welfare issues – 8 November 2013

21. Abolishes the National Housing Supply Council which provided data and expert advice on housing demand, supply and affordability – 8 November 2013

20. Abolishes the Advisory Panel on Positive Ageing, established to help address the challenges the country faces as the number of older Australians grows – 8 November 2013

19. Refuses to offer support to manufacturing in Tasmania, despite requests and warnings. Caterpillar announces the move of 200 jobs from Burnie to Thailand, costing around 1000 local jobs – 5 November 2013

18. Provides $2.2 million legal aid for farmers and miners to fight native title claims – 1 November 2013

17. Abolishes the 40 year old AusAID costing hundreds of jobs – 1 November 2013

16. Launches a successful High Court challenge which strikes down the ACT Marriage Equality laws invalidating the marriages of many people and ensuring discrimination against same-sex couples continues – 23 October 2013

15. Denies there is a link between climate change and more severe bush fires and accuses a senior UN official was “talking through their hat” – 23 October 2013

14. Appoints the head of the Business Council of Australia to a “Commission of Audit” to recommend cuts to public spending – 22 October 2013

13. Cuts compensation to the victims of bushfires – 21 October 2013

12. Instructs public servants and detention centre staff to call asylum seekers “illegals” – 20 October 2013

11. Appoints Howard era Australian Building & Construction Commission (ABCC) Director to help reinstate the ABCC with all its previous oppressive powers over construction workers – 17 October 2013

10. Axes the Major Cities Unit a Government agency with 10 staff which provided expert advice on urban issues in our 18 biggest cities – 24 September 2013

9. Breaks his promise to “stop the boats” – 23 September 2013

8. Scraps the Social Inclusion Board, which had been established to guide policy on the reduction of poverty in Australia – 19 September 2013

7. Abolishes the Climate Commission – 19 September 2013

6. Appoints himself Minister for Women – 16 September 2013

5. Appoints only one woman into his cabinet and blames the women for his decision, saying he appoints “on merit”– 16 September 2013

4. Abolishes key ministerial positions of climate change and science – 16 September 2013

3. Breaks his promise to spend his first week with an Aboriginal community –14 September 2012

2. Takes away pay rises for childcare workers – 13 September 2013

1. Takes away pay rises from aged care workers – 13 September 2013

The Broken Promise Count

1. Does not spend his first week as Prime Minister with an Aboriginal community – 14 September 2013. This promise was made in front of indigenous elders and participants at the Garma Festival on 10 August 2013, this is a live recording.

2. Fails to “stop the boats” – 23 September 2013. This promise was repeated so many times I can’t count. Here’s Abbott’s 2013 campaign launch speech.

3. Breaks his promise to support Gonski – 25 November 2013 and 13 May 2014. Fails to commit to future funding or to require States to match the Commonwealth funding commitment. See paragraph two from Christopher Pyne on 29 August 2013

4. Breaks its NBN election promise of giving all Australians access to 25 megabits per second download speeds by 2016 – 12 December 2013 This was the Coalition’s policy they took to the election first announced 9 April 2013.

5. Breaks his election promise of no cuts to education by cutting funding for trade training centres in schools on 17 December 2013. He made this promise at the National Press Club on 2 September 2013 and in writing on 5 September 2013 as part of their policy commitments.

6. Breaks a promise to make no cuts to health. He made this promise at the National Press Club on 2 September 2013 and in writing on 5 September 2013 as part of their policy commitments. This promise was first broken on 27 November 2013 when they cut funding to the Alcohol and Other Drugs Council

7. Breaks a promise to make no cuts to health on 17 December 2013 when they cut $150 million from hospitals and health services.

8. Fails to provide the promised customs vessel to monitor whaling operations in the Southern Ocean – 23 December 2013 Promise made by Greg Hunt – 9 April 2013

9. Breaks a promise to provide fibre-to-the-premises for all Tasmanians for the National Broadband Network. This promise was confirmed my Malcolm Turnbull on 17 August 2013 and confirmed as broken by the NBN Co executive chairman Ziggy Switkowski on 13 February 2014.

10. Breaks a promise to introduce the paid parental leave scheme he took to the election on 30 April 2014 by reducing the promised benefit for those earning above $100 000.

11. Breaks promise of “no cuts to the ABC or SBS” by cutting $43.5 million from the ABC and SBS.

12. Breaks a promise of “no new taxes” by introducing a deficit tax rise of two percentage points for people earning more than $180,000 a year.

13. Announced to sacking of 16,500 public sector workers as whole Departments are abolished despite promising only 12,000 job losses and through natural attrition.

14. Breaks a promise of “no new taxes” by introducing a fuel levy.

15. Reduction in foreign aid budget of $7.9 billion over five years despite promise to not exceed $4.5 billion and cut via indexation.

16. Increases the pension age to 70 from 2035 after promising no changes to pensions 

17. Cuts to old age pension by indexing to CPI, while it was promised there would be no changes.

18. Scraps The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) which was set up to support new and emerging renewable technologies and in doing so breaks an election promise.

19. Tears up the Federal Government’s agreement with states and territories to help fund increasing health costs despite promise of no cuts to health.

20.  Breaks a promise to make no cuts to health with a $368 million cut from preventative health measures.

21. Reduces the Medicare benefit for optometry services and allows optometrists to charge more, despite promise to not cut health budget.

22.  Axes the Charles Sturt University’s dental and oral health clinics, despite promise to not cut health budget.

23. Abolishes Medicare locals, despite promise to not cut health budget.

24. Breaks a promise to spend $2.55 billion Emissions Reduction Fund by committing less than half this amount in the budget.

25. Breaks a promise to have one million more solar roofs across Australia and at least 25 solar towns.

26. Breaks a promise not to cuts funding to health by dramatically cutting hospital funding.

27. Breaks election promise and slashes funding to Landcare

28. Breaks promise that no public servants will be forced into redundancy after revelations that two public servants in the Department of Industry have been made involuntarily redundant since September.

29. Breaks promise that no public servants will be forced into redundancy as it is revealed that at least 30 staff in Treasury will be made involuntarily redundant.

30. Breaks a promise not to grant permanent permanent residency to people arriving by boat by granting a visa to a least one refugee

31. Breaks a promise to amend the race hate laws

32. Breaks a promise to “make no unexpected detrimental changes to superannuation” by killing the Low Income Super Contribution, the Superannuation Guarantee and delaying superannuation increases for seven years.

33. Breaks election promise to  build replacement submarines in South Australian shipyards, spending more than $20 billion on Japanese submarines instead.

34. Breaks an election promise to a publish a proposal for constitutional recognition for Indigenous people and establish a bipartisan process to try to bring about recognition as soon as possible within the first 12 months of Government.

35. Breaks promise to  achieve a surplus in the Governments’ first year in office, instead overseeing an estimated $51 billion deterioration in revenue.

36. Breaks a key election promise to bring in 26 weeks parental leave paid at a working mother’s actual wage

37. Breaks an election promise to improve transparency by restricting the transparency of overseas travel expenses after media reports on Christopher Pyne’s lavish trip to Europe with his wife  

38. Imposes a $900 tax on new homes connecting to the NBN and breaks his election promise on new taxes.

39. Dumps his signature paid parental leave policy 

40. Breaks promise to lead a “strong, stable, accountable” government

41. Breaks an election promise to “make no changes to the GST” by extending it to purchases made online

42. Breaks a promise to provide a stable and unified Government

902 thoughts on “TRACKING ABBOTT’S WRECKAGE

  1. I believe the insanity known as Tony Abbott – and his mates – will be out of office before the end of this year (2014).

    I also believe politicians should now – legally – be held accountable for every broken promise by serving prison time for each offense – say, 2 years per broken promise. That MIGHT just help put a stop to politicians playing word games in pre-election races for the sole purpose of deceiving the public in order to hide the true nature of their policies.

    They will legally have to be specific with pre-election promises, giving full details of their plans in plain English, up front and in writing where the public can read the raw truth for themselves beforehand, leaving little room for doubt in politician’s minds that they’ll instantly and ruthlessly be thrown out of office and into prison for every promise they break, every deception they weave, and every lie they speak.

    We also need to drastically cut their salaries to something a very long way UNDER 100k per year; they don’t earn it, don’t deserve it, and are totally unworthy of it. Excessive salaries for politicians, together with current perks, I believe, merely serve to entice the greedy, the dishonest, the psychopathic. and the sociopathic into government positions of power, when in fact they care nothing for their people or their country.

    Finally, prevent them from accessing their pensions until legal retirement age, the same as everyone else.

    The likes of Tony Abbott and Joe Hockey are kings of Financial Human Rights Abuse; for that alone, I’d like to see them imprisoned for 20 years. Each.

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  2. Fred,
    Australia’s debt is one of lowest in the Industrialized world.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_future_gross_government_debt

    Go and look at how small a debt to GDP ratio Australia has. Less than 30%, the US of A over 100%, Great Britain at about 95%, France up there, China too. Pretty much everywhere certainly amongst the industrialized nations has a far higher debt to GDP ratio than Australia.

    Then consider the extent to which the whole “debt crisis” is manufactured BS from Abbott, who, in his own words on his Prime Ministerial ambitions, said, quote: “The only thing I wouldn’t do is sell my arse, but I’d have to think about it.”

    This is someone whom you consider fit to run the country? Someone who will build a straw man of an imaginary debt crisis to catapult himself to power, and then “solve” his imaginary crisis by further impoverishing those in our society with little or no security, who, thanks to the Murdoch press, were deluded into voting for him, in order further enrich those with more than they can ever spend. It is probably more true to describe Abbott as Murdoch’s poodle than the other way round.

    Bottom line, Fred, you have been lied to, and betrayed, by a cadre of consumately skilled liars, whose self interest over rides any consideration of decency..

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    • No just like most people I have a mortgage and am paying it off but if I cannot afford something I don’t just go out and borrow money to buy it. I wonder could you afford $12 Billion a year intrest only.

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      • So what is the implication here, that you actually believe the government’s rhetoric about government interest payments being bad.

        Don’t you realize the talk of an interest bill is a big con. Government interest paid on government bonds is today 2.73% (see http://www.rba.gov.au/statistics/tables/). As you likely know, the reserve bank targets 3% inflation … so by this measure, the government is being paid money … the talk of interest should be in REAL TERMS, ie we pay verrry close to zero interest on government borrowings.

        It makes me so sick that the current government has so hoodwinked the average Jo (or Fred in this case).

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      • Fred, Running a home and a country are two very different things. You are obviously not an economist, economists believe Australia is in a superior state to all modern countries with triple A rating, and remember the world went thru the GFC in 2008-9 and labour steered us thru that and the cost was a higher budget. It’s scary to think what would have happened if the Liberals were in power, how the poor would have suffered like they did in England, America, Ireland, and most of Europe.

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      • Fred, I think you’ll find that the vast majority of the world’s successful businesses either started on or or currently have some sort of credit debt.
        If they didn’t they simply wouldn’t exist.
        It’s called investing in the future and it’s what the Labor party successfully did to save us from the global financial crisis.
        It saved all of us, yourself included from one mighty big problem!

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    • I hope we can have a double dissolution asap. We have to get rid of these despots. They are wrecking ordinary Australians – the sick, elderly disabled and unemployed. Disgraceful!!. Australians always deserve a fair-go from their Government and we are definitely not getting that with Abbott and Co.

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  3. History shows that the more Tony Abbott rules something out, the more likely it is to actually happen – let’s see if he’s lying about [student] debt after death too.
    Tony Burke, Manager of Opposition Business

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  4. […] and ideological affiliations sit. I won’t go on in length here about the recent budget or the horrors of the past 8 months under this LNP government… that’s what Facebook and Twitter is for, after […]

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  5. Abbott is Truly pathetic and there is no dout all his cuts and Brocken promises were planed well in advance of the last election.
    It’s also clear his cuts and Brocken promises doesn’t bother him and his biting at the bitt to cut more out but at the same time lmpress the rich in leaving them with the smallest amount to pay impacting the poor hardest.

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  6. Great work Sally , was thinking this would be a great idea months ago , I am glad someone has done it . Will be a powerful tool to use in 2016 . We’ll done !!!!

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  7. It’s not about the promises, if he kept promises you would still hate just as much…were you all howling from the roof tops when Gillard was lying? No! … Find some better things to do guys, this is an absolute waste of time. About time the country was run properly and some difficult decisions made for the future of the country.

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    • There is no carbon tax. As for Julia Gillard lying you are completely wrong, what she said was: “There will be no carbon tax under a government I lead, but lets be absolutely clear. I am determined to price carbon”. Which she did.

      .

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      • Trevor
        The people who did not report the full comment & edited the video to delete the words “but let’s be absolutely clear I am determined to price carbon now” were the ones who lied & the words Carbon tax were first uttered by the lips of Tony Abbott and trumpetet by the MSM and their servants like bolt,jones Etc so there was nothing to trumpert

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    • About time etc …… country was run properly etc …….. difficult decisions etc …… future of the country etc…

      Could you maybe give a little more specific example of what you have in mind to be a “properly run country?”

      Instead that is, of simply parroting meaningless “Abbottspeak”, at a level of imbecility more reminiscent of the wonderful British comedy “Yes Prime Minister” than anything else.

      Do you remember it? Of course you do, in fact, you’ve memorized it!

      Like

    • Trevor, Gillards so called broken promise was not a core promise and she made it “off the cuff” so it doesn’t count, plus most Australians want and expect dirty polluting coal to be controlled. Finally Gillard apologised to those people who didn’t understand what she said, Abbott has not, he doesn’t seem to realise he constantly lies eg. About cut to ABC and SBS, the NBN, cuts to pensions, cuts to superannuation, cuts to health, cuts to education, providing open and transparent government, no surprises.
      One last thing Abbott and the LNP are lazy no hopers, they all turn up late for parliament sittings, fail to negotiate and waste every bodies time. They have only passed 7 pieces of legistlation in the same time Gillards government passed over 170 pieces of legistlation.

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  8. From 7 September 2013 to 6 June (the date of the latest reported Abbott idiocy) is 272 days. With 251 decisions varying between negative and catastrophic, he is averaging 0.92 per day. If he can keep it up, he will achieve 337 in his first year.

    George Bush (jnr) managed 400 in eight years according to http://www.netrootsmass.net/hughs-bush-scandals-list/ which is 50 per year. On this basis, Abbott is nearly 7 times as bad a leader as Bush – quite an achievement, as it is difficult to believe there could be anyone worse than Bush.

    Sadly I can’t find a list of Howard disasters, but he can’t have been nearly as bad as Abbott.

    Hopefully however things can only improve. There can (hopefully) be only so many bad decisions that one politician can make in his (or her) lifetime, and I pray (or would if I was religious) that there can’t be many misguided arrows left in Tony’s quiver.

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  9. From 7 September 2013 to 6 June (the date of the latest reported Abbott idiocy) is 272 days. With 251 decisions varying between negative and catastrophic, he is averaging 0.92 per day. If he can keep it up, he will achieve 337 in his first year.

    George Bush (jnr) managed 400 in eight years according to http://www.netrootsmass.net/hughs-bush-scandals-list/ which is 50 per year. On this basis, Abbott is nearly 7 times as bad a leader as Bush – quite an achievement, as it is difficult to believe there could be anyone worse than Bush.

    Sadly I can’t find a list of Howard disasters, but he can’t have been nearly as bad as Abbott.

    Hopefully however things can only improve. There can be only so many bad decisions that one politician can make in a lifetime, and I can’t believe that there can be many misguided arrows left in Tony’s quiver.”

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  10. People we are being farmed by this party and their multinational puppet masters. Just remember these muppets need the cooperation of another minor party to impose their will on us, so are they really in a position to wreck our way of life and impose global corporate agendas on us? I think not. I am ashamed of this government.

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  11. I wonder, did Abbott promise publicly, not just behind a closed door, before the election, to de-list a large chunk of Tasmania’s World Heritage classified forests, so the timber industry could log it to the beach?

    If so, it is another broken promise, although it took UNESCO to break it and rub his nose in his self created dog poo. Well done UNESCO, and thank you.

    This man is making us a laughing stock overseas as well as at home.

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  12. Can’t believe you welcomed the boats. Labor, Liberals and Greens actually want to stop them now. You and Sarah Hanson Young created these problems we have today. You are responsible for the deaths and people smugglers. Shame.

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    • Just who are you accusing of “welcoming” the boats? Nobody welcomed the boats. Not even me, and I have worked with one brilliant young engineer who came from Iran ultimately by boat. It was the only way he could get his family to safety. I wrote his story up way down in the posts here. If you can be bothered to look, you will find it.

      To accuse “You,” whoever that may be of being responsible, is to draw a very long bow. If you want to find you is really responsible, start looking at the maniacal governments from whom decent people are trying to escape.

      I have said it before. It is not smuggling when you wave like mad to attract the attention of the passing navy. Nor, is it actually illegal. Unwise, yes, a measure of desperation, yes, illegal, no.

      The only person maybe breaking the law might be master of the vessel, by providing a vessel for an international voyage that does not comply with accepted standards.

      We are currently building eight ships for C & BP at a cost of $344,000,000 to intercept vessels that you could maybe sell for $344. For that sort of money we could have built a world class immigration and refugee center that could have actually done some good.

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    • Sorry,
      I forgot to mention someone else who is breaking the law. International law, that is. Scott Morrison, a shining example of nastiness who last September apparently recorded a message for those incarcerated at Manus, telling them to: “Go back to where you came from, or face being locked up for a very, very, long time.

      Clear, absolute, contravention of the International agreements that this collection of trolls has no hesitation in flouting.

      (Reference: story, with the video, from Guardian Australia this AM)

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    • Using that logic we can blame John Howard for all the deaths in Iraq since the invasion we led on the off-chance that there was WMD to be found.

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      • Just as the good little poodles that our governments are, neoconservative ones in particular.

        “You having a war? Beaut! Can we come? What do you want us to bring? Beer? Prawns? F111’s?”

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    • Stop the Boats! We will Stop the Boats! is all we ever heard pre-election.
      Where are the Boats? Cant talk about the Boats? Its a military operation? In the interest of National Security? Mmmmmm….sound familiar?

      I am amazed that no one can see any problems with our sudden involvement of MH370, search & rescue,& ongoing underwater searches?
      With Operation Sovereign Borders on our NW coastline,we can track a 40ft fishing vessel, but our Navy cant track a 777 heading our way from MUSLIM Indonesia?
      Our alignment with US defense has made our purchase into the Wideband Global Satellite system. WGS-2 & WGS-4 are over the Indian Ocean,with jamming & remote control of aerial vehicles, & are manufactured by BOEING!
      Not one mention of this by MSM, yet the search was diverted by “info” from a UK Imarsat source, & hence relocated to WA coast, away from Asian media throng!

      The self evident US involvement, was the DELAY tactics.Complete silence from the US whilst the story changed daily>wrong area,terrorists,pilot suicide,fire,etc Then 3 weeks along, the sudden announcement of WA location by the US.
      Perfectly timed for Abbotts trip to China & the Free Trade Deals!
      Coincidentally, just as all MSM had forgotten story, Eric Holder suddenly announces the Indictment of Chinese Military Hackers for US industrial espionage.
      With names,PHOTOs,RANKS & Serial Numbers, where did the US get this intell?

      A military interrogation of Chinese Cyber Security/Computer experts on Diego GarCIA,analysis of their phones & harddrives, after remote control WGS-4 takeover,& a “sleeping gas” released on board during flight.(collateral damage passengers RIP).

      As we are USAs closest ally, have joint defense sats over Indian Ocean, & a media silenced military operation on the NW coast, one can see why ABBOTT was so quick to become involved in this obvious US cover-up!

      Like

    • Not a very logical argument. All refugees come from a dangerous regime at home, many are dying at home. Parroting Abbotts stupid argument about saving lives at sea is just spin, especially when a huge cut to foreign aid was made.

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    • Shame on you Ben You support the Abbott LNP who send back refugees to regimes responsible for the deaths of people fleeing evil brutal regimes.

      Like

    • I was also making a list (a bit different, it’s a “why I don’t like him” list, but yours made me look like an amateur! Anyway,in case you missed something, here it is:
      1. Virtually no pre-election policies
      2. Negative campaign
      3. Climate change is crap
      4. Shutting down Climate Advisory Commission
      5. Defunding and effectively firing CSIRO scientists, potentially Water Commission
      6. No minister for science – dismissiveness of science
      7. Unilaterally creating “Sirs” and “Dames” – apart from being bloody stupid, archaic, didn’t advise let alone consult cabinet
      8. Repealing Carbon Tax and replacing with Direct Action – we pay them not to pollute instead of them paying us when they do … a no-brainer.
      9. Dumping shit within the GBR Marine Park
      10. Buying a record number of very expensive and expensive to maintain known to be unreliable jet fighters
      11. De-listing world heritage forests for logging (why would God put them if he didn’t want us to cut them down?)
      12. Having a 100% white Christian, 60% catholic and almost all male cabinet …. and similarly tribalising the public service
      13. ”We’re very confident the signals we’re detecting are from the black box from MH370,…. position of the black box flight recorders was narrowed to within some kilometres” (10th April)… in total ignorance of the reality of things, big noting himself
      14. Vilification and brutalising of refugees
      15. Brutalising of naval personnel (anyone who had to perform the duties expected of them in the way they treated refugees have themselves been brutalised)
      16. Claiming the moral high ground in respect of our refugee intake
      17. Giving gunboats to a criminal regime
      18. His (qualified) approval of torture
      19. His loony Paid Parental Leave Scheme
      20. His misogyny
      21. His grossly inappropriate response to Australia spying on Indonesians
      22. Charging the public purse for travelling to weddings and triathlons
      23. His chummy association with the likes of Packer
      24. Every Asian nation is “our very best friend”
      25. Reneging on promises re education
      26. Wanting to water down the racial vilification (?) act
      27. His handling of the GMH and cannery disputes versus money to farmers and forests to loggers
      28. His all too ready defence of Arthur Sidonis
      29. Releasing previous government’s cabinet papers
      30. Inventing a budget crisis (for an AAA rated economy!!)
      31. Defunding (closing down) Environmental Defenders Offices
      32. Defunding (closing down) “Youth Connections” (youth employment)
      33. Fawning on the Royals
      34. Cutting foreign aid
      35. Telling us a new tax is not a tax
      36. Broken promise – cuts to ABC budget
      37. Broken promise – cuts to SBS budget
      38. Broken promise – massive cuts to education
      39. Broken promise – massive cuts to health
      40. Broken promise – new “deficit tax”
      41. Broken promise – new doctor visit tax
      42. Broken promise – higher tax on fuel
      43. Broken promise – change to pensions
      44. 1200 new affordable rental homes will be axed in WA while there is nothing in the budget for homelessness or to deal with the housing crisis.
      45. $866 million to be spent on bulldozing the Beeliar Wetlands by building Roe Highway through them, and to turn Stock Road and High Street into motorways.
      46. Extra funding for school chaplains
      47. Huge hike in university fees
      48. Hike in HEC repayment/interest charged
      49. Wedging states to increase GST
      50. De-subsidising solar and wind power
      51. Closing down preventative health council
      52. Reduced funding for Aborigines
      53. Broken promise – not spending a week in an Aboriginal community
      54. his daughter getting a $60,000 “scholarship” (really a gift to Abbott)
      55. not declaring the above
      56. using his daughters as political props, but when the heat comes on, saying that’s (the scholarship) is personal, unfair
      57. Saying Shorten is a whinger for not proposing Labor’s “alternate” budget when all Abbott did for more than two years in opposition was whinge and offered no policies.
      58. Not being able to do simple maths. Doctors’ visits cost $7 of which $5 goes to the government. Admin would cost ??, lets say $1, ie $4 to govt. This is to pay for $20 billion medical research fund, ie = 208 doctor visits for each person in Australia.
      59. Taking away pensioner’s subsidised fees for driving licences, rego and phone and not mentioning this in the budget speech.
      60. Winding back of rules to report statistics on women in the workplace.
      61. Eliminating financial advice protection agency.
      62. Dismantling NBN for yet another inquiry. Advocating a mix of technologies to cut costs, outdated before they start.
      63. Inquiry into the National Curriculum when it has only been going three years. A two man Coalition selected panel of inquiry (including Kevin Donnelly, the Catholic right wing education scribe for The Australian) charged with adding more on Christianity, Anzacs and early settlement; the exact opposite of the NC aim of inclusivity regarding Aboriginal culture and Asian neighbours, while still retaining the western perspective in reasonable doses.
      64. Undermining the equitable school funding proposal of Gonski when it took a panel of experts from all aspects of schooling six years to devise. Criticizing the Gonski model as causing a decline in standards when in fact the decline in standards over the last ten years is linked to the old Howard model of inequitable funding.
      65. Live animal export to Iran is recommencing.
      66. claiming to be a conservationist!!
      67. his Texas talk that coal will lead the way (and I thought he was 20th century; he’s actually 19th).
      68. trying to get G8 nations to forget carbon tax, way out of step with reality
      69. support of factory farming, criminalising activists
      70. Reducing the onus on banks and financial advisers to provide impartial advise
      71. $120M cut to ASIC’s budget (Combined effect of these will be more people losing their life savings to flaky investment schemes and shonky operators).
      72. remaining committed to the school chaplaincy programme despite the High Court unanimous ruling that it was illegal.
      73. his response to soldiers in Afghanistan on the death of one of the own: “Well, sometimes shit happens.”
      74. his very close relationship with George Pell, for whom I could make an equally long list.
      75. increasing tax on fuel but not putting tax collected into public transport
      76. scrapping Brisbane Cross River Rail
      77. scrapping Melbourne Metro
      78. scrapping Perth Light Rail Public Transport Package

      Like

      • Tony Abbott is a liar: It’s a mathematical truth

        The Age
        Date: May 29, 2014

        Until there is a dramatic change in Australia’s approach to education there will be no improvement in attitudes to scientific and mathematical truth, or to truth of any sort.

        Do politicians lie? Of course they do, including, of course, Prime Minister Tony Abbott. Whether it’s the manufacturing of a budget “crisis”, or the systematic trashing of election promises, or pretending that taxes are anything-but-taxes, or lying about spying, or lying about lying, Abbott has demonstrated his disdain for the truth.

        There is no need to go into detail here since Mike Carlton has already documented much of the fibbing, ably assisted by Annabel Crabb and Laurie Oakes and Bernard Keane and … well, pretty much every political commentator who isn’t a Liberal Party shill.

        And Tony Abbott is not alone. The Prime Minister leads a fine cabinet of companion liars, including the Minister for the Destruction of Education, Christopher Pyne. A “unity ticket” on the Gonski education reforms? Nope, just some airbrushing of history and yet another lie.

        The overarching lie is that Prime Minister Abbott is leading a conservative government. In fact, Australia is being pummelled by American-style, dog-eat-dog radicals. Far from being conservative, current Liberal Party philosophy is little more than adolescent-level libertarianism.

        It shouldn’t be news that politicians are lying and it’s not mathematics. Well, we believe that the depth and the nature of Liberal dishonesty is news, and we believe there is a connection to be made.

        Since there is no minister for mathematics let’s begin with the minister for science. And he is … a ghost. Yes, for the first time since 1939 the federal government of Australia has no minister for science.

        But it doesn’t really matter if there’s no science minister, just as long as scientific research is well-funded. And the CSIRO, the government’s dedicated body for science research is … having its funding slashed.

        But it doesn’t really matter if a particular science organisation has to jettison research, just as long as someone is doing good science. And the federal government is promoting careful research into … wind turbine syndrome.

        Yes, Prime Minister Abbott has arranged for the National Health and Medical Research Council to undertake a study of the health effects of wind turbines. Even though there is no scientific basis for the concerns, and even though study after study after study after study has demonstrated that wind turbines are safe. However one cannot be too careful and perhaps the National Health and Medical Research Council will discover something new. Perhaps they’ll figure out how the thousands of wind turbines that have been in Denmark for decades have failed to kill everyone. Or anyone.

        But it doesn’t really matter if the Prime Minister is distracted by a little bit of cultish nonsense, just as long as the major scientific issue of our time is being addressed with care and honesty. Which brings us to global warming. Or climate change, if you prefer. Whatever. A withered rose by any other name is just as dead.

        To be clear, we have no intention of debating global warming. Why not? Because there is no debate. It is a scientific fact that global warming is happening. It is a scientific fact that humans are responsible, through the production of greenhouse gases. And the evidence very strongly suggests that the consequences are already occurring, and in the future will be extensive and bad. Or, if the world continues to do bugger-all about reducing carbon dioxide emissions, very very bad.

        We believe a zero-respect policy on global warming denialism is long overdue. However for the moment our concern is not with the madness of crowds but the madness of politicians.

        Are the politicians mad? Abbott infamously declared climate change to be “absolute crap” but that was years ago. Abbott now claims to believe in climate change. Is he now lying? Who could possibly tell? But it also doesn’t matter.

        Whether or not Abbott still believes climate change is crap, his government invariably acts as if it were crap. The list, helpfully compiled by Crikey’s Giles Parkinson, is already phenomenal: the submission of legislation to repeal the carbon tax; the demolition of the Australian Renewable Energy Agency; the guess-what-will-happen review of Australia’s renewable energy target; moves to scrap the Clean Energy Finance Corporation; moves to demolish the Climate Change Authority; the demolition of the Climate Commission; appointing a full-blown climate crank as chief business adviser; and transforming the minister for climate change into another ghost, to keep company with the minister for science. All of this while underfunding the Liberal Party’s own absurd carbon capture scheme with its absurdly inadequate target.

        Can Abbott possibly get away with this environmental and scientific (and economic) vandalism? We don’t know but the Liberal Party obviously believes it’s on a winner. And it may be that enough Australians listen to enough nonsense, or just have insufficient concern, that the Liberal Party is correct.

        It is clear that many Australians do not have any great respect for the scientific method or scientific practice. It seems way too common to regard science as just another belief system, nothing but boffin-based opinion. The result is that science is permitted no special claim to truth, which is a very dangerous, essentially mediaeval, state of affairs. What on Earth has happened?

        A little bit about school mathematics: we, as mathmeticians, have banged on and on, column after column, about the woeful presentation of mathematics in curricula and textbooks, and consequently in maths classes. We’ve wailed over the presentation of mathematics as a collection of facts to be religiously accepted, rather than as a beautiful, precise and incredibly powerful method of reasoning. The harm to students’ opinion of mathematics is obvious and massive, but we believe the harm extends much further.

        The just-the-facts style of teaching mathematics promotes a warped, faith-based attitude to knowledge. It undermines the whole point of education, for students to learn to think, to value truth as the end result of reasoning rather than as a collection of God-given facts. Until there is a dramatic change in Australia’s approach to education we cannot see how there will be any improvement in Australians’ attitude to scientific and mathematical truth, or to truth of any sort.

        It’s a very long bow to blame the poor teaching of mathematics for Abbott’s anti-science crusade, and we have no intention of drawing it. But it is unarguable that Australian society currently places a depressingly low value on reason and truth, and so on science in particular. We believe mathematics teaching must take its fair share of the blame.

        But what of Tony? Will he be remembered as a liar? Probably, but probably he’ll be remembered for much more. Eventually, and more likely sooner rather than later, global warming will be undeniable. Truly undeniable.

        Which means Abbott should go down in history as the Australian Prime Minister, the last Australian Prime Minister, to deny physical reality.

        Associate Professor Burkard Polster teaches mathematics at Monash University, Clayton. Marty Ross is a mathematician. As the Maths Masters they write a weekly column for The Age’s Education pages.

        Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/comment/tony-abbott-is-a-liar-its-a-mathematical-truth-20140529-zrs5h.html#ixzz390iUNzsa

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      • Why does a 500mil/year expense to go to war with the Americans not have to be approved by parliament first? Is this really in the interest o the Australian people? I get sick in the stomach when Abbot quotes “The Australian people”. Every decision this government makes is only for the benefit of big business and not or the people of Australia (unless you own a lot of shares of course)

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  13. The McClure draft report on changes to pensions proposed, although not finalised yet, still breaks the BIG promise “no change to pensions” by the very fact that they are being considered very seriously.

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    • If you run through the list above, you will see that he already has, and in spades. The latest being the pension discount on vehicle registration.

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  14. Not a promise, but an indication of Abbott’s lack of regard for working Australians, any working Australians. The Productivity Report into Tasmanian Shipping and Transport has recommended deregulating Australian Coastal maritime traffic, opening it to foreign competition, something that those nations do not permit themselves.

    “Deregulating the coast and allowing foreign vessels unfettered access to carry Australian local cargo will undoubtedly result in the complete demise of Australian shipping companies and with them the skilled Australian seafarer.

    Australian seafarers will disappear under the regime recommended in the Productivity Report as the low paid foreign workers take those jobs.

    It would be ironic if Australia – the largest island nation – was left without professional maritime staff,” Teresa Lloyd Executive Director at the Australian Shipowners Association said.

    Source:World Maritime News, http://worldmaritimenews.com/archives/129266/australian-seafarers-threatened-by-foreign-workers/

    I put this in because it is so typical of the actions of this government that do not get reported, and are below the radar for most people. I will watch to see if this part of the Productivity Report is adopted.

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  15. This is a website I’ve been searching for since Tony Abbott became Prime Bully. Thank you to Sally and all the other contributors for shining a light on the dark and nefarious world of the LNP and its figurehead(s).

    Bullies, either individuals or groups, use force, threats, or coercion to abuse, intimidate, or aggressively impose domination over others perceived to be weaker than themselves. They justify their behaviour on the grounds of the superiority of their class, race, religion, gender, sexuality, social stratum, history, appearance or worldview (dogma, ideology).

    There is considerable evidence that bullying (the need to dominate) is an evolutionary trait useful for ensuring group cohesion through conformity (controlling anyone who is outside the accepted group norm) that also confers advantages to the bully through enhanced status or access to resources, or both. The need to dominate is evident throughout nature, and when an individual displays it as unequivocally, as enthusiastically, as Mr Abbott and his ilk, nothing is going to change them.

    In this instance, at least half of the Australian body politic supports a wholly different worldview than Abbot and is cronies, both in and outside of government. It is important, therefore, that Australians do not allow ourselves to become victims. We must fight for a vision different from the one LNP neoliberals are pushing us toward. Maintaining a list like this helps identify the bullies’ tools and dogma so we can push back.

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    • The COALition can destroy our great country and are doing so rapidly, but they can never destroy the good thoughts and strong will of the people! We (somehow) will survive this and go forward again one day when they are gone.

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      • I though the good thoughts and strong will of the people was exercised last year when they kicked out the incompetent Labor government or does the majority of people not count in your eyes.

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      • According to Thomas Jefferson “A democracy is nothing more than mob rule, where fifty-one percent of the people may take away the rights of the other forty-nine”. On the same topic, Benjamin Franklin wrote most succinctly “Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch.”

        Labor understandably lost the confidence of the people with its characteristic infighting and lack of a unifying leader. They still lack a true leader, but a three-legged black dog with a bad attitude would be an improvement on this unprincipled Luddite. The polls are clearly indicating that the majority have already recognised their collective error.

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      • Polls can say anything all you do is ask the question the right way and in the right place and you get the answer you want. I just wonder how many off those people who were asked will actually transfer their reply to a vote.

        I don’t think it was just the infighting with labor people realised that it was a tired lost government. I gather by your remarks about ABBOTT that you think that RUDD, GILLARD and now SHORTEN were/are principled people. As they say just watch his space.

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      • Fred, three years before the great majority of Australians voted in a Labour Government and all they got from Abbott and the LNP was obstruction in the most disgusting and destructive way, it’s called politics, now the shoe is on the other foot you cry foul!

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      • Fred it is obviously okay with you if Abbott and the LNP lie. They can govern which means that those clever voters you quote didn’t quite believe Abbott. He doesn’t have a mandate. He won’t be there next election.

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    • this website is a “green” piece of BS. If you believe the claims of this website without doing your own research to find the “REAL” facts then you are an ignorant and brainwashed person. Most of the listed “so called complaints” are actually very logical and common sense decisions and I support them. There are a lot of claims on this site which don’t have supporting documentation or the context of these comments. Anyone can take a sentence and twist it into a story. I recommend that if you are serious about the truth and the future of Australia then websites like this one are not the place to base your opinions.

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  16. Thank you for this ! It is easy to lose track of the details. Every week it just gets worse…

    A motion at the Liberal party’s federal council meeting to strip eco-charities of the same rights permitted to other charities, including tax-deductible donations was unanimously endorsed.’

    Coupled with this action Murdoch/IPA announcing that the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission is to be abolished.

    The ACNC is the independent national regulator of charities in Australia a Labor initiative that is working to lift levels of accountability and transparency and supported by over 80% of Australia’s 600,000 charities and Not for Profit organizations.

    Abbott removed all funding for the legal centre, the Environmental Defenders Office whose input to proposed legislation, submissions, legal reports and their community liaison/ legal advice to Australians with concerns over CSG etc is vital for those seeking legal representation and/or appeals.

    And Brandis moves to remove access to free legal assistance in Australia- community legal centres will be unable to use their federal funding to progress law reform or advocate on policy.

    Governing by stealth – silence the voice of opposition while hiding behind a cloak of secrecy.

    If anyone is not worried about this Abbott regime, they’re simply not paying attention.

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  17. 266 !! says the japanese soldiers fought “honorably” when refering to their was with China just prior to WW2 !! During his visit to Japan where yet another job killing free trade agreement was signed! CHEAP CARS EVERYONE! woohooo

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  18. No one has challenged a British citizen (Abbott) becoming prime minister of Australia.
    I thought a person in politics in this country had to give up his allegence to his/her former
    country. To my knowledge Abbott has not and therefore under our constitution is forbidden from even entering politics.There are around 30 dual nationals alone on the Liberal party who appear not to have given up their dual nationaties!

    Gough was right, “may God save the Governor General”,
    after all the governer general’s duty is to ensure allegence to Australia and none else.

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  19. I doubt very much that any Liberal or even Labor supporters would like humanity going back to the days of living in caves that would be the Greens who appear to vote with the labor party.

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    • Fred, you seem to forget it’s the aptly named COALition which wants this nation to live in the dark ages like Neanderthals and keep burning coal forever for our energy needs instead of using modern day cleaner and cheaper sources of energy.

      Then there’s internet via copper wires! hahahahahaha
      Laughable!

      Welcome to the COALition’s dark ages.

      No wonder they want to take money from the education system. They are afraid some of the offspring of their blind followers might find out the Earth is not flat!

      Next they’ll have us using the old style solid rubber tyres instead of pneumatic ones.
      Or perhaps that’s too modern and they should be wooden should they Fred?

      Enlighten us Fred, like the bright glow of the COALition’s candle!

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    • Abbott and his powerful, greedy mates wouldn’t give a hoot if people lived in caves. Abbott would say, “shit happens” because his god told him everybody has their place.

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  20. I actually agree with these Church, and other charities paying tax if they can pay some of the heads of these so called charities hundreds of thousands of dollars a year then they should pay tax.

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  21. Sure hope they have, before it’s too late fro this country and it costs us even more than he has already to repair the damage!

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    • What has happened to Roof Top Solar feed in tariffs now that the “carbon tax” has been abolished?
      Is it true that the rates will be eliminated now?

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  22. Funny how all the crazies are saying what a good job Abbott is doing and how it was the will of the majority that he got voted in, but yet you can’t seem to get anyone to admit voting for the mongrel dog.

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  23. All of this funding is for the wayward left who really are fake as can be , charging for the climate after climate gate proved it was all a scam and a fraud . C02 does not cause heat you morons , MARS IS 95% C02 AND ITS – 80 C . Look at the waste you people cost us , and where were any of you when this bill came up ? Australian journalists could face prosecution and jail for reporting Snowden-style revelations about certain spy operations, in an “outrageous” expansion of the government’s national security powers, leading criminal lawyers have warned.

    A bill presented to parliament on Wednesday by the attorney general, George Brandis, would expand the powers of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (Asio), including creation of a new offence punishable by five years in jail for “any person” who disclosed information relating to “special intelligence operations”.

    The person would be liable for a 10-year term if the disclosure would “endanger the health or safety of any person or prejudice the effective conduct of a special intelligence operation”.

    Special intelligence operations are a new type of operation in which intelligence officers receive immunity from liability or prosecution where they may need to engage in conduct that would be otherwise unlawful. NOWHERE TO BE SEEN . YOU LOT STAND FOR NOTHING .

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    • Larry,
      Leaving the rest alone, for now, the utter vacuous stupidity of your first point beggars belief, and is valuable only to show the extent of the foolishness that is actually confused with reason in the ranks of the climate deniers, including Tony Abbott.

      You might like to consider the facts that not only is Mars 188,300,000 kilometers further from the big bright thing in the sky than we are, but also, that the CO2, while dominant, is really hardly there at all, in fact atmospheric pressure at the surface of Mars is 0.6% that of ours. Possibly it is the reason that the temperature on Mars is not -180^, instead of the relatively warm -80^.

      Please come back when you have an argument that is worth a response.

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    • Second point Larry,
      Thank you for this with respect to George Brandis, as nasty a little twerp as any in the cadre of creeps that define the Abbott government.

      Why it has not appeared here, I cannot tell you. I agree it belongs. A small point that can be made is that the blog tries to be specifically about broken promises as distinct from general complaints. Were it general, it would be much, much longer than its already impressive length.

      I will also admit to being one of the worst offenders at diverting the prime thrust of the blog.

      See, we can agree on something, but your first argument really was pretty silly.

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    • Larry, saying that “MARS IS 95% C02 AND ITS – 80 C” just goes to prove that even though all humans have a brain it doesn’t mean that all of them are intelligent.

      I also believe it proves that any intelligence whatsoever which might be found in the COALition should be called Special Intelligence, since it would be a very rare and special thing indeed!

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    • Larry if 97% of scientists are telling you something that could be catostraphic for your life and you choose believing the 3% that say “you’ll be right mate” and you believe that 3% you could be living in a fools paradise.

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      • And it is worth remembering that 97% (roughly) of the 3% are in the employ of the oil and coal companies.

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  24. Could that be because every time they try to get legislation through the senate they are blocked by what is left of the labor party, the greens and some of the minor parties who let labor put through anything they liked oh and don’t forget PUP he only does things that suit him.

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    • Therefore no mandate, get it Fred? That’s democracy. Labour succeeded because they could negotiate, there is nothing stopping the LNP except their own incompetence.

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    • Fred,
      PUP actually voted against, to my mild surprise, the Abbott move that I posted about to get Australian seamen and women off our coastal shipping, and replace them with low paid and poorly protected foreign substitutes.

      This something that would have benefited personally Clive Palmer’s coal exporting activities, so it is a bit unfair to say that he “only does things that suit him.”

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  25. True but the previous government was only held together because of a few indpendants where as this government can govern in its own right.

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    • Wrong Fred, the previous government ruled passed hundreds of pieces of legistlation because it could negotiate outcomes even though it didn’t have a majority. All the opposition could do was oppose and whinge. This feral Government can’t govern, it has only passed a handful of legistlation because it cannot not negotiate. It’s a shambles. It’s main argument is it’s everybody else’s fault. It’s the beginning of the end.

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