[AU] Inequality 'not rising', says Liberal social services minister - Polidicks

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2018/oct/29/inequality-not-rising-says-liberal-minister-confronted-by-newstart-recipients Inequality 'not rising', says Liberal minister confronted by Newstart recipients New social services minister Paul Fletcher has been confronted by Newstart recipients about the historically low rate of the unemployment benefit, as he argued inequality in Australia was “not rising” at a conference on Monday. Fletcher, who was appointed in August, was later confronted by audience members who expressed frustration at the government’s refusal to raise the rate of Newstart payments. The benefit has not risen in real terms since 1994. “I’d like to know whether the Liberal Party, or parliament, anyone in that big house in Canberra is going to sit down and work out a path out of poverty for us poor people who have to live in it year in and year out?” Storrar asked. Fletcher said the government’s position on Newstart was “pretty well understood” and he did not plan to to “announce any change to our position”. Opponents argue that, measured over a few decades, the Gini coefficient shows inequality is the highest it has been for a generation. They also note the OECD has raised concerns about rising inequality in Australia

Fucking Australia and it's weird fetish where liberals are conservatives has caused me great confusion yet again. Your beer sucks balls too.

Liberalism and conservatism are not mutually exclusive. And the Australian Liberal Party, although it has a conservative faction, is not necessarily a conservative party anyways. Also, the Australian Liberal Party is among the most faithful to the classical definition of liberalism. But anyways yeah the Minister is talking shit. Inequality may not be as bad as in North America, but we’ve certainly had better times. However, there are some things which we are doing right. Eg a very large majority of Australians will have their retirement income be at least 90% of their pre-retirement income.

The further highlight how much of a joke Newstart is, you are expected to live on $39 dollars a day to cover all of your living expenses and even at the maximum payment rate you are still well below the poverty line. Furthermore to continue earning this pitful sum you have to complete the ineffective and absolutely draining work for the dole program which only a quarter of people are able to find employment from after completing three months of the program which effectively just punishes people for being unable to find work instead helping them find it.

Well, they're socially conservative and economically neo-liberal. The party is fractured between the "conservatives" who are there because they believe their culture is under attack by progressives (people like Tony Abbott); and the "moderates" who are really only their to represent business interests and maintain the status quo (people like Malcolm Turnbull). They're also in a coalition with the National Party which represents mostly rural farming communities. What you also have to understand is that the Liberal Party, despite being the major right-wing party, is somewhere on-par with the Democrats in America.

this is how you get populists, ignoring the problems of society because you don't want to do anything to expand government