Hockey still learning art of dealing: LDP

Liberal Democrats senator David Leyonhjelm has said the government has a way to go in negotiations. Source: AAP

TREASURER Joe Hockey admits the government is "not very good" at negotiating, a key crossbench senator says.

NSW Liberal Democrats senator David Leyonhjelm met Mr Hockey in Sydney on Monday to discuss a way forward on a raft of budget measures facing blockage in the Senate.

The first fortnight of the new Senate in early July was chaotic as the federal government dealt with an 18-member crossbench, including 10 Greens, out of which it needs six votes to pass legislation.Senator Leyonhjelm told AAP after the meeting he got the feeling the 11-month-old government was still getting used to the idea of having to negotiate."I pointed out that if the situation was reversed and it was Labor in government needing our votes I would have 25 (ALP senators) new best friends," Senator Leyonhjelm said."He laughed at that and said 'that's true. We are not very good at that thing'."Senator Leyonhjelm said the Liberal Party's attitude was `we've got our policy, we've fought about it amongst ourselves and now we just want to do it and everybody should agree with us'."'You will have to change your approach', is what I suggested," he added.The pair swapped intelligence on where each of the crossbench senators stood on issues.Senator Leyonhjelm said he had no problem with the depth of the cuts in the budget and believed they should have gone deeper."I don't need convincing we have a serious budget problem," he said.When he suggested to the treasurer the budget was a lot softer than it should have been, Mr Hockey "smiled a little bit because I think he probably agrees with me", the senator said.The Liberal Democrats have suggested the mining tax legislation be split into spending and revenue bills so debate could be held separately on each measure.Senator Leyonhjelm said the Palmer United Party, lead by lower house MP Clive Palmer, and the Australian Greens were holding this up."It is Clive's tax, he has retained it," the senator said.The $7 GP co-payment could be made more palatable if it was offset by a cut in the co-payment for pharmaceuticals and the revenue did not go to a medical research fund, he said.While they did not discuss a delay in the paid parental leave scheme laws, it was discussed in terms of its financial impact, which the treasurer said would be "cost-neutral".Senator Leyonhjelm believes the money would be better spent on childcare services.The coalition's Direct Action climate plan appears doomed as well.All of the crossbenchers who have met the treasurer have been offered briefings by Treasury.The Liberal Democrats plan to take up a suggestion that they have their key policies costed by the Parliamentary Budget Office.

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Business confidence hits 11-year high

Brother sees twin die in holiday prank

ALEX D'Aleo, a tradie from Sydney, was killed after trying to jump on to a boat during Croatia's yacht week while on holiday with his twin brother.

Is your relative in this famous photo?

IT'S an iconic image, haunted by stories about a hidden corpse and a secret signal among the married men. The truth is more enthralling. Was your ancestor there?

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Hockey tests Senate crossbench support

The federal government reportedly delivered the budget knowing its cuts would hurt poor households. Source: AAP

CROSSBENCH senators continue to pressure the Abbott government to withdraw or revise some of its controversial budget measures.

TREASURER Joe Hockey met with Liberal Democrats' senator David Leyonhjelm on Monday as he continued a round of talks with the MPs ahead of federal parliament sitting later this month.

Senator Leyonhjelm later told AAP he got the feeling the 11-month-old government was still getting used to having to negotiate."I pointed out that if the situation was reversed and it was Labor in government needing our votes I would have 25 (ALP senators) new best friends," Senator Leyonhjelm said."He (Mr Hockey) laughed at that and said 'that's true. We are not very good at that thing'."Senator Leyonhjelm said he had no problem with the depth of the budget expenditure cuts, saying they could have gone further.When he suggested this to the treasurer, Mr Hockey "smiled a little bit because I think he probably agrees with me", the senator said.The Liberal Democrat, who opposes new levies on business, has proposed the mining tax legislation be split into separate spending and revenue bills for debate and complains Clive Palmer's Palmer United Party (PUP) and the Australian Greens were holding up progress."It is Clive's tax, he has retained it," the senator said.As well, a proposed $7 GP visit co-payment could be made more palatable if it was offset by a cut in the co-payment for pharmaceuticals and the revenue did not go to a medical research fund.While Mr Hockey and the senator did not discuss a delay to Prime Minister Tony Abbott's signature paid parental leave scheme, its financial impact was discussed the treasurer saying it would be "cost-neutral".Senator Leyonhjelm believes the focus - the scheme is expected to cost about $4 billion a year and be partly funded by a levy on big corporations - should be on childcare services.The PUP wants Mr Abbott to give up the scheme, saying it's too expensive.PUP senator Jacqui Lambie, who met with Mr Hockey over the weekend, said she was convinced a mini-budget was needed and that the paid parental leave and the GP co-payment should be axed.While she personally liked Mr Hockey, "his economics are certainly worth questioning".Senator Lambie will bring a "folder full of questions" with her when she visited the Treasury department office in Canberra next week."I think the budget measures are illegitimate and they don't have a mandate for them," she told ABC Radio on Monday.The PUP has suggested halving the foreign aid budget to pay for economic stimulus in struggling states like Tasmania."He was just sort of stunned," Senator Lambie said of the treasurer's reaction to the proposal.Mr Hockey, who needs to secure at least six senator crossbench votes to get his remaining measures through, said there was a lot of work to do."I will meet with anyone who is sensible and the independent senators so far are proving to be sensible, unlike some of the others in the upper house," he said.Shadow treasurer Chris Bowen said the coalition budget was out of touch and unfair because it targets low income earners.

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Bondi balcony plunger trying to handstand

A FRIEND of Sydney identity Adam Freeman was trying to do a handstand when he fell about 10 metres from a balcony railing in Sydney's east, cracking a vertebra and fracturing his eye socket.

THE son of late underworld figure George Freeman told the Seven Network he thought his mate had died after falling from the North Bondi balcony on Sunday.

"He was doing, like, a balancing act on the balcony. Next minute he's just fallen over," he said.Freeman, who pleaded guilty to making $3 million worth of ecstasy last year, said he ran downstairs to try to help the man."We're best mates. We've know each other for 10 years, we were just having a laugh around," he said.Carlo Davids is now recovering in St Vincent's Hospital.Freeman was questioned by police after the fall but no charges have been laid.

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CSG firm admits health impacts: activists

ACTIVISTS claim a coal seam gas firm's buy out of properties near its Queensland operation is an admission the gas is harmful.

HOWEVER, the Queensland Gas Company (QGC) says it has purchased 60 properties in the Surat Basin over the past decade to build infrastructure and to minimise the impact on residents.

Lock the Gate president Drew Hutton says the firm has been "quietly" buying properties from residents at Tara, west of Toowoomba, who have complained of health impacts."The buy outs are a tacit admission by this foreign owned company that coal seam gas is harmful to human health," he said in a statement."Finally QGC has admitted responsibility and bought some people out."We are waiting to see if the company will do the right thing for the remaining residents who have been suffering a range of health effects from air pollution and black rain."A QGC spokesman says sellers approached the firm and the purchase of properties didn't relate to health impact claims."QGC sometimes purchases properties in the Surat Basin to support development of long-term infrastructure and to minimise impact on residents," the spokesman said."These purchase decisions are made on a case-by-case basis and all the properties have been offered for sale by the sellers."Residents have reported nose bleeds, chronic headaches, nausea and rashes among children and adults living in the Tara residential estate.They believe CSG mining in the area is contaminating the air and poisoning potable groundwater.The health department last year reported a recent study could not determine whether any of the health effects reported by residents was linked to exposure to CSG activities.

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Gold miner cuts jobs as it expands

AUSTRALIA'S second largest gold miner has cut more than 200 jobs over the past six months after purchasing a series of gold mines.

NORTHERN Star Resources managing director Bill Beament said the West Australian company had reduced its workforce at its operations in Kalgoorlie plus its Plutonic mine, but no redundancies occurred at its recently acquired Jundee mine.

"At this point in time we don't see anything else changing," he said.Around 90 voluntary redundancies occurred at Kalgoorlie while staff numbers at Plutonic had been reduced by about 140.Northern Star recently beat its quarterly production target and said it expects to produce between 550,000 and 600,000 ounces of gold at between $1,050 and $1,100 an ounce during the 2014/15 financial year.The company's latest acquisition, the Jundee mine, produced an additional 75,000 ounces of gold during the June quarter, but was not included in the quarterly result.The company plans to reduce costs by about ten per cent over the upcoming year, through supply and productivity improvements.Mr Beament said the company planned to install another director on the company's board over the next six months, as the company expands."We're very quickly and rapidly growing," he said.He said key investors such as investment manager Blackrock were driving a push towards higher margins rather than volumes."We can't control the gold price, but we can control our costs," he said.Mr Beament said labour costs across the industry were around 10 to 15 per cent lower than recent years.He added that Northern Star's wages were in line with major global miners such as Barrick Gold and Newmont.

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NSW govt whip Cornwell to face ICAC

Brother sees twin die in holiday prank

ALEX D'Aleo, a tradie from Sydney, was killed after trying to jump on to a boat during Croatia's yacht week while on holiday with his twin brother.

Is your relative in this famous photo?

IT'S an iconic image, haunted by stories about a hidden corpse and a secret signal among the married men. The truth is more enthralling. Was your ancestor there?

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Lawyers criticise Vic coronial changes

Brother sees twin die in holiday prank

ALEX D'Aleo, a tradie from Sydney, was killed after trying to jump on to a boat during Croatia's yacht week while on holiday with his twin brother.

Is your relative in this famous photo?

IT'S an iconic image, haunted by stories about a hidden corpse and a secret signal among the married men. The truth is more enthralling. Was your ancestor there?

23.23 | 0 komentar | Read More