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NewsOpen letter to the Prime Minister of Australia, the Hon Malcolm Turnbull
Open letter to the Prime Minister of Australia, the Hon Malcolm Turnbull

Open letter to the Prime Minister of Australia, the Hon Malcolm Turnbull

Dear Malcolm,

As a sixty year-old who is now our prime minister may I congratulate you, at least on behalf of some of our 130,000 members, on your sudden elevation and commend the benefits of joining the FiftyUp Club.

The snap poll alongside this letter on the website may give you some idea as to your current popularity amongst the members who have previously told they are predominantly coalition supporters.

We’re in the midst of the Fair Go For Fifty Ups campaign which seeks to highlight the cost of living issues, pressures and even solutions facing one in five Australians.

Given we are a powerful electoral force and issues such as retirement incomes, tax and GST, health spending and insurance are the bread and butter of politics I thought you might be interested in some interim findings.

It’s our intention to bundle up the 16,000 responses so far, which include some robust statistics and pithy comments, and present them to politicians in Canberra next month. Perhaps you’ll be free?

When it comes to state politicians in particular eyeing off an increasing the GST we are clearly split down the middle.

While 46% say absolutely no change to the system another 46% do support increases to the 10% rate and/or to the base of goods and services on which it is levied.

Another contentious issue under increasing debate is whether the family home should be included in the pension assets test.

When asked what policy was most important to their family situation 42% nominated the family home exemption followed by 15% choosing no changes to superannuation taxes.

Given your predecessor promised there’d be no changes to super in his administration many of us might be forgiven for wondering if this remains the case.

Finally with health lobby groups calling for a review of private health insurance, and the government reportedly due to call one soon, we’d love to know where you stand.

When you were last in charge of the party in 2009 you may recall using your budget reply speech to reject Labor’s means testing of this insurance.

The scrapping of the means test remains seemingly unaffordable but it would be popular with the 51% of our respondents finding it hard to afford but ‘not prepared to go without it’.

Another 16% have had to cancel their cover because it has become a ‘luxury’.

Please consider the above and we shall forward the final poll results as soon as they are in,

 

 Yours Sincerely,

Christopher Zinn

Fifty Up Club Spokesperson

Originally posted on .

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Open letter to the Prime Minister of Australia, the Hon Malcolm Turnbull

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Someone
Someone from QLD commented:

In my opinion you have no backbone when a pollys mouth is moving its a lie proven time and time again . send to mr m Turnbull or should that be Turncoat . FWP 

ALEX
ALEX from QLD commented:

The Honourable PM Mr. Turnbull, As a person who is 68 years of age and worked since I was 14 and paid my share of taxes. I hope you my not take a deaf ear on our plea.Most of us are not looking for handouts like most of the illegal immigrants. We are looking for someone with a lots of compassions and consideration for the Australian pensioners. I'm not a Liberal/Labour supporter , however, I have always help you in the highest regards and , hopeful , make a great PM. One thing I pray that you look at is the generous entitlements bestowed on the elected members of the Australian parliament. I wish you best of luck for the future. Oh! watch out for Brutis. 

bill
bill from QLD commented:

Robert, old chap, a good government doesn't spend all it's time in power knocking the previous government's efforts ( a quote from a long ago Liberal prime minister) Watch question time on the ABC and see in every answer how many times Liberal ministers knock the ALP past efforts in an answer but actually do not answer any questions put to them It gets in and improves the situation for the betterment of the country and not a selected few at the expense of the rest As for your hatred of the ALP and unions, remember this , you and your decedents enjoy all the privileges of:-holidays , sick leave maternity leave ,superannuation, a safe work environment, penalty rates, a decent wage and to make your love of the LNP absurd the LNP want to take it all away---Go figure that Also every time that the ALP has to form a coalition to govern, the hue and cry from the Liberals is beyond belief as if a coalition is a very bad thing yet in fact the Liberals have not held government in their own right since the days of BoB Menzies It has always been the LNP-National Party COALITION--go figure that one No mate , the ALP is always for the country and the worker and the Liberals have always been for the business, not the country ( consider ripping the coal out of the ground to give away, coal seam gas that is poisoning the land, stock stations that are now owned by foreign businesses and have no need to employ Australians at all) yet and here is the anomaly--business cannot survive without the input from the workers, but workers can survive without the ceo's and managers from overseas sit down , take you blue scarf off as it is restricting blood flow to your brain and look around you 

Fred
Fred from NSW commented:

From fred kellyville We elect persons that can honest loyal and frank with each other. This week has seen all the Australian values washed down the drain what values are we to teach our children I do not mind if they need to make changes etc but at day end there is a proper and due process. Not simply wait to the 11hour 59minute and king hit the prime minster 

Carol
Carol from NSW commented:

Please do not congratulate him on my behalf. Go and listen to the speech he gave when Labor knifed Kevin Rudd - the Hypocrite. In 52 years I have always voted but next time I will go and get my name marked off the roll and walk out. They are treating us like fools, They don't care about the country , if they did they would not be so interested in what the POLLS were saying, and getting on with doing their job that they are paid to do looking after Australia. I am disgusted. 

Robert
Robert from NSW commented:

I am disappointed at your comments sure I am. Now you are talking about a particular issue "tax cuts" and the likes whereas before you just had nothing to say of any consequence at all - just total rubbish.We cannot afford tax cuts "period" - yippie! something that you have just brought about - I never ever said we can afford any "tax cuts" but those lousy Labor politicians thought we could or we should without considering the alternatives. This was followed by the Liberals - to appease the somewhat illiterate elite who were looking for a handout as usual. The budget crisis does exist. What those suicidal Labor idiots did to the country with the massive expenditure and debt crisis had to be fixed. Unfortunately the Liberals faced another mob of idiots in the senate and that has caused a further escalation in the debt factor. Would you prefer to have a massive debt hanging over your head or a decline so as to put "OUR" country in a better financial position? The tax cuts that the Liberals came up with due to Labors promises would have had to have increases in other areas so as to balance the books - Labor would have done the same. The problem was and still is that Labor would not know what to do in the first place - that's what I call an ignorant mob of union backed up politicians with very little or NO private enterprise experience. The Liberals on the other hand would try to minimise the other avenue with tax increases in other areas. Have you heard of debit / credit accounting? If so you would understand - what goes out must come in from somewhere just to balance the books, as they say. Unfortunately, someone somewhere was going to be hit with something, but, for the good of the country, I was prepared to accept whatever that was required to HELP put our country back on track (even from those idiots in the Labor camp if they were elected to government) and this is what you call "DRACONIAN" policies? 

Shelley
Shelley from NSW commented:

Maybe Mr Turnbull can tell us how we can trust him and how he going to pacify and win back those in the population that has a more than palpable (& understandable) anger over his obvious treachery at undermining our former Prime Minister who the electorate voted in (indirectly by voting for liberal MPs under Mr Abbott's policies). I want to see a continuation of Mr Abbott's policies (with I must admit better communication to the electorate), I also want to see what his plans for this country to become a public are - WITH a referendum on this issue - not have him be sly and bring it in through the back door, so to speak, and NOT as an election issue - it is too important for that. I also would like to know how he thinks he can run this country better when his own efforts in communication, were so appalling, and on that note - what's he going to do about the ABC being less biased? It is, after all, the tax-payer funded media network, and should reflect that, not just the leftist views that it so likes to broadcast. I also want to see his plans for reigning in the debt that the labor party left us, which in turn, helps the less fortunate in this country. Finally - what's he going to do about the politicians abuse of entitlements? 

Anthony
Anthony from NSW commented:

Its great t have a new prime minister, however I like to vote for that person and that person was not malcolm turnbull. So what are you going to do with your Labour Party ideals? try to create a Liberal/Labor party? Well now is the time to man up and provide some substantial policy other than the mamby pamby minor issues you have been behind in the past. What are you going to do for all Australians especially those that have paid their taxes all their lives and want to have a comfortable retirement? 

colleen
colleen from NSW commented:

Please share the refugee intake around Australia , the west has taken there fair share example Liverpool and Fairfield .Please send them to some rural areas like Dubbo , Orange or other states like ,SouthAustralia, ACT ,Northern Territory QLD or even in your own electorate or Mr Bairds. Why are we borrowing money from Asia to take in and support new refugees?How about looking after our own homeless people . 

Michael
Michael from QLD commented:

poor old pill it is obvious you wish to be a pain go for it then sleep with your same sex partner and enjoy your dose of aids 

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