The new hundred million

Lodge now can be counted in billi ons

It seems chat one billion dollars is the ne,v one hundred miJlio n. In nwnbers, a 100 million is 10% of the magic billion figure, but the way the billion figure is ban died about by the cur renr politicians in Australia, it does seem like loose change, Th e cen tre of the world, or at .l ease of Australia, in the first week of March has been \Xlestern Sydney. With PM Gillard camped out in the wild west, attention bas been turned to \v hat is on offer by the Labor government in Australia as the unofficial campaign for the September 2013 election kicks off. Dumb in g it down tO a price differential is easy, in te rm s of what Labor has to offer compared co what the Coali tion w ill offer , or take away In busi n ess, the competition seems tO be in the hands of the dumbest player whe n al] that exists is a price differential, and decisions are made o n pricing rather than 9ualicy This obviously has become the gran d play in the po litical stakes where rather than policy, it is a loose throw of a few billion here, m: a few billion there. The e n try fee ro stay at d1e

The Gillard government seems to be particularly keen to splash a few b illi on arou nd Onl y this week (and at d1e time of writing rbi s, iris Wednesday), $1.2 biUio n has been allocated ro salary increases in d1e aged care secto r; Wes tern Syd ney has been p romised SI b ill ion for a new road project (su b ject to conditions); last week Prime M inister Gillard unveiled a $1.1 billion school reading blitz and the wee k before she made a p i tch to blue-coUar workers, unveiling d erails of the Government's new $1 b illion jobs package, All o f chis, toge ther with promises in t he past, have even the Business Council of Australia worried, due ro the $49 billion b lack bole of unfun ded new spending commitments And this is before fonding has been decided for wha r seem tO be two of Labor's re -e lection p latforms, d i e National Disability I n surance Scheme (NDIS) and the Gonski Education reforms, which are both slated to cost about $10 b illion dollars a year Where the danger lies in these promised expenses for d1e rap idl y increasing Indian Australian community, i s d1e impact thi s spending - which has not been balanced by income - w ill ha,,e over d1e longer term. This c an mean increased taxes on the aspiratio n al and hard-working Jndian community, o r government enforced austerity meas u res in d1e funu·e to pay off public debt.

More concerning is the Gillard government's demonising of foreig n workers Playing to its base o f rbe unions (and tbe funding received from them), d1e Labor Party, true to i ts DNA is keen tO allow for greater contraction o f the labour marker, so as to sq ueeze demand and increase wages. While d1ar can happen, what is shameful tO watch i s the lack of respect s bown tO t h e hard wo rk of these workers who contribute to the economy by paying their sh are of ta..'i:, 457 visa holders are nor supported b y government-funded l'vledicare and also pa y school fees for their children in public schools. They often take u p jobs which create greater flow-on o pportunities for d1e w id er community.

I t is a sh ame that d1e Gillard government h as failed ro recognise contributions b y d1ese wo r kers.

The Indian Australian community, which has grown strongly in the past few years with migrants starting in the 457 visa categories before becoming full time residents, has a ri gh t to feel insulted by the Gillard government's dog-whisding, If there are loop h oles in the system, d1e gove rnment needs co fix them : they have the mandate tO do so, but not by belitding the co n tribution of those w h o work hard in their new jobs d own under