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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

Tags: Cost of Living FiftyUp Club FiftyUp Club News
Last updated by Chris Zinn on

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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martina
martina from NSW commented:

O.K. Malcolm you have finally made it, you have waited 10 years for this to finally happen for you, you were pretty mediocre in your last portfolio, maybe you can now finally become effective in your new role. I am very disappointed in the way you did it, but it is done now, and we must get over it! I do hope that you do something other than trying to change the flag, and bring in marriages for gay couples, so good luck and I for one will be watching you! 

Mark
Mark from NSW commented:

Leonne from NSW echoes my thoughts pretty well. Australia does not make anything anymore - excepts beds in hotels and coffee in the never ending rise of hole in the wall coffee shops. Why? Because our manufacturing costs - especially wages - are too high. Why? because we have let the Unions become too pervasive and powerful. The horse has bolted on this one, and we will never again be a manufacturing country - everything we buy will be sourced overseas and we can't now get rid of unions. All Australia owns now is the land, and that is being gobbled up by overseas interests at an alarming rate. We must put a stop to overseas interests buying swathes of Australia and to mining groups overrunning farms. What's the point of a free trade agreement if everything we make or invent or grow is owned by a foreign company or government? I am glad I am closer to death than birth, but I fear for the future of my small grandchildren. 

Margaret
Margaret from NSW commented:

Australian need the right people in the right job for the right reasons. Australians are suffering. Personally, I am appalled with consumer, employee and injured workers rights and a government that does not care for, or protect its own people. There is nowhere to go - all concerns are met with apathy by those who are supposed to represent and protect us. Perhaps if the "age of entitlement" ceased for the privileged few, and when they are sufficiently offended, maybe then things might change - for the better and a fair go for all achieved. I would like the government that is elected by the people, to be there FOR the people! 

Robert
Robert from NSW replied to Margaret:

Margaret, I like your comments. "Apathy" is the word that should inspire all those not in the the political scene. We know what politicians think of the public at large - "they just don't think but ignore "our" concerns". Age of entitlement should be thrown out with immediate effect and in particular where politicians are concerned. They do not have any decency and or fear about their entitlements because they are protected by the laws created by the remuneration board and treasury but are totally against the protection of individuals in the reality world of "public" accountability. Let us see what this individual new leader will action and let's not forget the opposition too. Will he or the opposition when elected ever stop the rorts by the politicians? - "period" - my personal opinion is an emphatic "NO". 

Marion
Marion from QLD commented:

Oh no! Not another Prime minister! It just means another one that will get all the benefits that ex Prime ministers get leaving even less in the pot for over 50's and other welfare recipients. (I wonder if Mr Rudd gets them twice!) As part pensioners who will lose the pension in Jan '17 we will no longer vote for the coalition having done so since Malcolm Fraser 

Graeme
Graeme from NSW commented:

Changes to Centrelink's treatment of superannuation pensions for defined benefits scheme members as from 1 January 2016 will result in 40 000 part pensioners loosing or having their current payments severely reduced. We can not make up this loss in our 70s. These changes were announced by in the Budget Speech despite Mr Abbott saying there would be no changes to superannuation in this term of Government. We will not receive Aged Pensioner benefits if we lose out part pension despite Mr Hockey saying so in his Budget speech. A mis-statement perhaps! The legislation for these changes was rushed through parliament before many opposition members and cross bench members had a chance to understand it. Another 280 000 part pensioners will be affected on 2017 by changes to the assets test. Is this how to treat seniors when money is handed out to refugees and new mothers? It is up to Mr Turnbull to have the legislation changed back to negate these changes. 

Lyn
Lyn from NSW replied to Graeme:

You are spot on re the rushing through of the legislation. That is my complaint as it seemed only days after any official figures re changes were issued that the Bill was passed & it was evident from comments on this site that those of us affected hardly yet knew the facts and suddenly it was law & too late to contact MP's etc to encourage further consultation with relevant Seniors groups. The approx. $ 2 . 4 billion savings they were looking for by reducing part-pensions could have been raised elsewhere such as lowering the $18,200 tax-free threshold on current employees. Most retirees only had benefit of a tax-free threshold of range $5400 - $6000 for most of their working lives so we have all paid much more tax for donkey's years as taxed from $5401 or $6001, whichever applied at the time. 

Ross
Ross from QLD commented:

The change in the assets test which will result in loss of the pension card is creating major stress for pensioners at least allow existing pensioners to keep their card a change in that legistration is required 

Judith
Judith from NSW commented:

My husband and I are fully funded retirees, no pension or benefits, have always looked after our income, no superannuation as my husband had his own business, and superannuation came in too late for us. We would appreciate being eligible for the Seniors Health Card, as we have numerous medical bills, and this would help us enormously. Thank you, Judith. 

Judith
Judith from NSW commented:

Judith from NSW If the family home is considered to be included in the assets test, it should only be a small percentage for homes that are more than $3million. It is possible for a couple to live comfortably on the pension, while drawing down approx. $8000 per year from a superannuation of $200k - that is as long as there is no home mortgage. We still manage to keep the private health insurance. Hope Mr. Turnbull can increase the pension as not everyone has superannuation. Sorry to lose Tony Abbott, he was doing his best with the mess he inherited, a real gentleman. 

Someone
Someone from NSW commented:

Oops - I was asked for my opinion but after writing 4796 characters I get told the number should be between 5 and 2000. Please take note. 

Barbara
Barbara from NSW commented:

My husband and I lose a combined $500 per fortnight in part pension from January 2016 due to Mr Abbott's broken promises of "no change to pensions - no change to super".. My husband has already cancelled his private health insurance as he considered it a luxury that he could do without. We'll have to tighten our belts even further come January, How about politicians do a bit of belt-tightening too. 

Robert
Robert from NSW replied to Barbara:

Come on Barbara, sure there were mistakes made - who does not make these mistakes? Nobody DEMANDS that the politicians pull their weight and tighten up their belts - absolutely nobody - do you think they will listen to you and me - NO - only if the entire country get's behind a movemnet and DEMANDS what we all want them to do. We all have to tighten up our belts - thanks to that political party called "LABOUR" who created the mess we are in today. 

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