{"id":3547,"date":"2013-05-04T21:53:02","date_gmt":"2013-05-04T11:53:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/australiansforhonestpolitics.wordpress.com\/?p=3547"},"modified":"2019-04-13T23:24:15","modified_gmt":"2019-04-13T13:24:15","slug":"the-ndis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.nofibs.com.au\/the-ndis\/","title":{"rendered":"The MSM’s NDIS: Make the frame, change the frame, WTFs the frame?"},"content":{"rendered":"

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By Tony ‘The Geek’ Yegles<\/a><\/p>\n

May 4 2013<\/p>\n

I was fascinated by the media’s framing of the NDIS debate this week. Within 48 hours it moved from reporting a naked tax grab by the Prime Minister, to a worthy\u00a0initiative when Mr Abbott put the national interest ahead of his political interest. Update below May 15 2014<\/strong><\/p>\n

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November 29 2012 – NDIS Bill is introduced in Parliament with Coalition absent.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"NDIS

Tony Abbott: “We have supported the NDIS every step of the way.”\u00a0NDIS Bill Introduction 29\/11\/2012 with only 6 LNP MPs present.<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n

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December 6 2012 – NSW signs on to the NDIS<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"PM

PM Julia Gillard, NSW Premier Barry O’Farrell and NSW Disability Services Minister Andrew Constance at NDIS press conference in Canberra on Thursday 6 December 2012. Photo: Alex Ellinghausen<\/p><\/div>\n

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In the lead up to the NDIS Medicare Levy announcement, Joe Hockey and News Limited were the fiercest critics.<\/p>\n

Falling revenue forecasts mean Gonski and NDIS reforms are unaffordable: Joe Hockey<\/a><\/p>\n

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Monday April 29: Government leaks the possibility of Medicare Levy<\/strong><\/p>\n

Economists say levy needed to fund NDIS<\/a><\/p>\n

Levy on table to fund $15bn NDIS<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Picture2\"<\/p>\n

Interestingly the above story and headline in the print edition of The Australian was changed online from Abbott blasts plans for a levy to fund the NDIS<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>to\u00a0Julia Gillard expected to reveal NDIS levy details<\/a><\/p>\n

NDIS levy could curb growth: Joe Hockey<\/a><\/p>\n

Hockey \u201cIf the economy is under-performing, you don’t tax it to increase performance. You never tax and regulate your way to prosperity, this is something the Labor Party just doesn’t get. You don’t improve economic growth by increasing taxes.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Tuesday April 30:<\/strong> \u00a0Prime Minister Julia Gillard announces 0.5% levy to fund NDIS<\/strong><\/p>\n

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NDIS Levy Announcement<\/p><\/div>\n

Peter Anderso<\/strong>n, the chief executive of the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI<\/strong>)\u00a0‘We don’t necessarily need the gilt-edged scheme<\/strong> if we actually can’t afford it,”<\/p>\n

Opposition treasury spokesman Joe Hockey<\/strong>: “A levy being introduced today while the economy is rather fragile is not going to help the economy. It is going to hinder the economy.\u00a0“The reason why we have grave concerns about having a levy<\/strong> is because business and consumer confidence is fragile and a new levy is not going to help business and consumer confidence,”<\/p>\n

Government’s ‘Briefed Out’ Levy Covers Less Than Half of NDIS Cost<\/a><\/p>\n

Julia Gillard announces 0.5% levy to fund NDIS<\/a><\/p>\n

Increasing income tax the right choice for a sustainable\u00a0NDIS<\/a><\/p>\n

Julia Gillard ups the ante on NDIS levy plan<\/a><\/p>\n

\"herald_sun.1750\"<\/p>\n

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\nWednesday May 1: <\/strong>The usual suspects take up their pre-determined ideological positions.<\/span><\/h3>\n

\"herald_sun.750\"<\/p>\n

\"NDIS<\/p>\n

\"Picture1\"<\/p>\n

Consumer, business confidence at risk due to Medicare levy hike, experts warn<\/a><\/p>\n

Steve Wojtkiw<\/strong>, chief economist for the Victorian Employers Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VECCI<\/strong>): This is not the time to impose new taxes<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Joe Hockey<\/strong> told ABC Radio: Now isn\u2019t the time to be introducing any new taxes<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

TONY ABBOTT<\/strong>: If you’ve only got half the funding, it stands to reason that you’re only gonna get half the scheme.<\/p>\n

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Thursday May 2: Abbott supports levy<\/strong><\/p>\n

The\u00a0usual\u00a0suspects are forced to change their position to remain in lockstep with Mr Abbott.<\/p>\n

News Limited’s Gemma Jones:\u00a0Politics is put aside in bid to support decency over the National Disability Insurance Scheme<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Picture4\"<\/p>\n

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Herald Sun’s Philip Hudson. Note: Victory and Abbott in bold.<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n

Who could forget the gilt-edged Millionaire CEOs:<\/p>\n

Myer has warned the proposed increase to the Medicare levy will hurt sales at its stores, since it will affect its direct customer base.<\/a><\/p>\n

Presumably the levy hurts more than modernity and online sales? What about the tax free\u00a0threshold from $18,000 to $6,000, the overall lower taxes since 2007, low interest rates and a massive retail stimpack boost at the height of the GFC?\u00a0Bernie Brookes and Gerry Harvey must live in the same gilt-edged millionaire’s bubble.<\/p>\n

\"How

How do you return a business to its former glory? Give it to Bernie Brookes.<\/p><\/div>\n

Business Council Australia and Myer forced to defend their NDIS stance.\u00a0Both say they do support the scheme.<\/a><\/p>\n

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Friday May 3 –\u00a0MSM is trying to keep up with policy overtaking politics<\/strong><\/p>\n

Horse race journalism is the laziest journalism there is. It is opinion based and anyone and everyone \u00a0has one of those. Insiders called for PM’s political death<\/a> ever since 2010.
\nSo what to do when the merits of \u00a0a policy has wide popular support and support from both sides of politics? What if it transcends and breaks out from the lazy framing of left\/right and big bad guvmint?<\/p>\n

Easy. Flip the reality on its head and see what comes out.<\/p>\n

Mr Insider himself, Barry Cassidy:\u00a0Labor lets Coalition call the shots on NDIS<\/a><\/p>\n

Michelle Grattan:\u00a0Political reality overtook some cynical power play from both sides, but especially by the PM<\/a>\u00a0 (How many times has Grattan written this exact same story?)<\/p>\n

Just a reminder that for the Coalition, NDIS was always in the category of “aspirational” meaning the “never never”. There were no funds allocated, no policy work, no effort put into NDIS. None. Mr Abbott had been on a weeklong charity bike ride, while Hockey has been bagging every Government policy and its costings without providing any of his own.<\/p>\n

It is the PM that has had a change of heart on the levy early this week, not Abbott , not Hockey. By Tuesday it became a policy reality.<\/p>\n

The coalition had to do all the catch up from bad guvmint, great big new tax to moderate increase and a good start. The same goes for the MSM who lazily applied the same LNP political framing they’ve applied throughout. It was the policy substance that took them by surprise. Suddenly they had to come up with new explanations outside of who lost and who won. Explaining the values of a policy.<\/p>\n

Could it be that just maybe the aim was to ensure that important national policy was secured for the future, in the spirit of medicare and superannuation? It took the old 1 – 2 trick to lure out the\u00a0usual\u00a0suspects from their opposition and then force them to confront the substance of the policy, the values.<\/p>\n

Policy trumping politics? I have never heard that said from an insider. Keating said good policy is good politics.<\/p>\n

Margo Kingston called it early and called it right:\u00a0I feel the disability levy will transcend standard political analysis and game-playing.<\/p>\n

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@timdunlop<\/a> @barossaobserver<\/a>, Tim, I feel the disability levy will transcend standard political analysis and game-playing.<\/p>\n

— margo kingston (@margokingston1) May 1, 2013<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n