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MILSUPER - How we sat idly by... 24 Jul 2010 Hardly surprising what happens when you search for "broken promises" on google The google search results list hundreds of webpages summarising the hollow words and empty promises of the Labor Party I'd remind you that the Labor party rode to victory at the 2007 election largely because of these hollow words and empty promises that won the marginal seats What's more damning is that Labor's original policies have been taken off the Labour Party's website. If they had kept their promises then they would not have changed their website. This is a blatant attempt by the Government to hide these broken promises that it said would be done if they were elected in 2007. It has been said that Kevin Rudd said what he needed to say to get elected and it was all dumped the day after. And don't think anything has changed with Gillard... I've said it before and I'll say it again that Gillard is a co-offender in the gang of four and this kitchen cabinet still exists with Swan so suddenly shifting his allegiances... at least Tanner has had the decency to not stand for re-election since he and Faulkner know that the kitchen cabinet were on the nose and still smell off today The Coalition is the only way forward to resolve the misery of hundreds of thousands in our veteran community and I urge you to vote for the Coalition on election day 22 Jul 2010 It's time I wrote to advise just how little time we have left to resolve the fair indexation campaign We are so close to resolving this at the 2010 Federal Election with the Coalition offering a once in a generation opportunity to resolve much of the indexation campaign although lobbying is still being undertaken this to further the flow-on aspects But then again it could swing the other way if the Labor Party wins and the current harsh realities remain in place A win by the Coalition will end the death by a thousand cuts suffered by thousands of the veteran community as they flip a coin in their daily decision on whether to pay the electricity bill or buy groceries I don't think readers realise the depths of despair that thousands of our veteran community find themselves in - nor do readers understand that it will happen to them tomorrow if they are unfortunate enough to be injured and retired on invalidity grounds... it will also happen to your widow tomorrow if you are unfortunate enough to die in the service of our great nation Don't think it cannot happen to you - it has already happened to far too many this year who will also suffer hardship as their MSBS benefits fritter away with unfair indexation You really have to take this to the streets - I call upon you to discuss this with all of your friends and relatives - I call upon you to discuss this at with every serving mbr that you know - the longer you do nothing risks the failure of the campaign and consigns more of our veteran community and perhaps you and your family to the scrapheap If you haven't done anything just yet... I urge that you act before it affects you too ! I trust and pray that you will do the right thing by the veteran community come election day otherwise your decision may come back to haunt you and your family 21 Jul 2010 Another update to the 2010 Federal Election webpage 20 Jul 2010 Update on 2010 Federal Election webpage 16 Jul 2010 Part II of IV promised update/s to my webpage/s... Just discharged from hospital following a pain management admission... I really need to rest and recover but the fair indexation campaign is at too much at risk if I do not try and find the time to weave in critical update/s so important updates will flow gradually today and tomorrow My despatch rider has arrived with grave and disturbing news from the Western Front... the Labor Party have bluntly told the National President of the *** that they have answered their 2007 pre-election commitments and promises to fair indexation by commissioning the Mathews Report which essentially produced little if anything and they have slammed the door shut at this moment on any hope of fair indexation No surprises perhaps... but it is a political folly by the Labor Party if they think they can so blithely ignore us in an election campaign where the marginal seats campaign can unseat them - particularly once the Labor Party realises that so many seats not previously deemed marginal can now be so deemed so because of the policy disasters of the Labor Party that o so clutter the political landscape such as the sell-off of critical state resources as mooted by the Bligh Government in Queensland Youse all knew that the answer to fair indexation was going to be political Nobody has had the courage yet to say so overtly but everybody has rearranged their websites to gently guide you to this decision yourselves The DFWA website will tell you of the Coalition's courageous decison to allow fair indexation of DFRB/DFRDB and you must use this once in a generation opportunity to resolve the indexation debate once and for all. I, like many others see this as allowing a flow-on into other milsuper schemes like MSBS so yet more lobbying has to take place The DFWA website also lets you view the Greens indexation policy I had thought that the DFWA website let you view the hollow words and empty promises of the Labor Party on fair indexation of milsuper pensions at the last Federal Election... but you can read about them here http://www.militarysuperannuation.for-our.info/labor_2007_expectations.pdf You should also take the time to review the history of the fair indexation issue at http://dfwa.org.au/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=27&Itemid=11 So - the blunt answer is that I urge you to vote for the Coalition at the upcoming (and perhaps closer than we think) Federal Election I'll update the 2010 Federal Election webpage tomorrow and I will also webpublish a OUT Mike KELLY webpage. Mike KELLY is particularly deserving of being outed.. he too made an astonishing amount of promises to fixee fixee fair indexation and once having won his marginal seat with these hollow words and empty promises... promptly ducked for cover with an occasional glimpse over the parapet... I consider that he has sold his soul, and whilst you would think that his Royal Crest and gorget patches means that he has an eternal duty to the welfare of diggers - his performance to date has been well below par and must be deemed as a betrayal from within our uniformed community 8 Jul 2010 A gentle reminder to all that it serves no purpose indeed it is counter-productive to attack the Coalition following their historic announcement on their policy initiatives with DFRB/DFRDB indexation Any attacks are having a negative effect and makes it more difficult as we move forwards to acknowledge this very positive move and at the same time to press the Coalition to include all members of the military superannuation schemes in their initiatives MSBS is the milsuper scheme of the majority of serving ADF as well as those who have left our uniformed community and we must strive towards fair indexation of MSBS to protect our future well-being And an attack on the Coalition does not help us as we continue to lobby Government for not only bipartisan support but also for their reply to this historic and once in a generation win on our behalf by DFWA and others I ask that you not meddle or interfere with the important work that is going on in the background and I remind you that we live in interesting times given that this is an election year and to standby to expect a backflip from the Labor Party as the marginal seats campaign heats up and they are forced to reply on their election policy platform on the fair indexation issue I ask that you continue to write to your elected representatives because this is reflected in the party rooms where the debate will be won or lost in this engine room of the election And I ask that you pass the message along to all serving members of the ADF and ask that they do likewise - it has never been more important that ADF members understand that their future wellbeing is linked to the critical issue of fair indexation - far too many serving ADF members have no idea that their superannuation pension under MSBS is linked to CPI which means that they too will fall into the pit of ever decreasing purchasing power into a beggar's banquet of bread and dripping in their golden retirement years unless they put their hands up now to resolve this once and for all There has been a generation of DFRB/DFRDB beneficiaries who have suffered badly with unfair indexation for decades to the point that they barely eke out their futures indeed they will never recover all of the benefits they have lost with unfair indexation - this too can and will happen to MSBS members if you do not step up to the plate indeed you should not think your retirement will be comfortable unless you help out your mates now Pass the message to all serving ADF members and ask that they pass the message to all their serving colleagues - to not do otherwise will doom us to an uncertain and likely heart-broken future wellbeing in our golden years 7 Jul 2010 another update... Despatch rider has arrived from the Western Front: "*** continues to seek discussions with the responsible Government ministers on the issue of military superannuation but the latest is that an announcement will be forthcoming before the coming election. As of late June it was advised that from the Government’s perspective “it was very unlikely that we would get a positive result on the indexation issue” and that they did “not want to raise any false hopes.” The Government’s announcement will be it response to the Podger Report which as you are aware it has been withholding for quite some time. The politics of this is interesting! We wait to see what the Government’s response will be and what, if any, further movement *** are able to coax from the Opposition. This is not a time to be sitting back and ‘hopin and prayin’ that the cards will fall our way. More to follow, Over." Well there you go... the Labor Party has a history of opposing fair indexation and has ignored the many Parliamentary inquiries recommending replacing CPI with a fairer index Failure by the Labor Party to address fair indexation can only have harsh consequences for the marginal seats as the veteran community targets them in a manner designed to force the Government to sit up and take notice - an 8 seat loss predicted by the betting agencies can easily be doubled with worse to follow as the veteran community expresses their righteous anger on election day Mike Kelly seems fair game to target in Eden-Monaro to make the Labor Party sit up and take notice of our claims but it is disheartening to sacrifice a good and true man - but if need be it is a necessary loss if we are to follow through on the ground breaking and once in a generation opportunity to resolve this following the Abbott commitments Only ill-health and hospitalisation tomorrow prevents me from a e-mailout in Eden-Monaro this week - but I do ask that you keep abreast of the promises by each of the political parties and consider voting along the path that best answers the reasonable demands of the veteran community It's still early days in the election campaign and as the temperature heats up stand by for further policy backflips Ladies and gents - maintain the rage - continue to write to your elected members - join DFWA for the final lap to the finish line If you don't help out your mates - who is going to help you ? 29 Jun 2010 2010 Federal election to be called this weekend ? here 27 Jun 2010 Joint Coalition Media Release offers hope on DBRB/DFRDB indexation to over 55 beneficiaries - here 23 Jun 2010 IMPORTANT UPDATE ON THE 2010 FEDERAL ELECTION here Many of you will be aware of the DFWA position on the merger of the military and civilian superannuation boards - probably time you roamed around the DFWA website to read about this and other issues that affect you day to day as serving and retired members But some of us fear that this is also a necesary step towards intoducing the proposed new military superannuation accumulation plan I warn of earlier in my website And have our uniformed members of the board engaged us the uniformed community to address these fears or to hear our voice about many of the problems of the present DFRDB or MSBS schemes... ummm... no ! it hurts when you feel a betrayal from within The fair indexation debate has a priority at this moment but watch this space and cover your arcs 7 Mar 10 Some folks have told me that my feedback page does not work... indeed they are correct I've changed the hyperlink from someone@microsoft.com to me at admin@bobnoxious.org... but then again my email addresses are on the homepage Feedback would normally be done by a webbot where the server my website resides has the Frontpage Server Extensions it requires to run and in this case it does not I'll respond to any constructive feedback - but my feelings are that I do not wish to push my website into a Lundy-ish (read Luddite-ish) forum where any and all can post their comments and then return to their armchair thinking they have done their share... NO ! - this website preaches direct action and urges you to leave the relative safety of your armchairs Anything else will doom you and the veteran community to a beggar's banquet of ever decreasing superannuation and to do nothing is something that we as diggers cannot tolerate 7 Jan 2010 I need to sincerely thank those who have kindly distributed my website via their mailing list/s - no names, no packdrill - you know who you are It is mission essential that you email your ex-service colleagues to provide details of this website (and to ask them to email all of their colleagues as well) and to ask that they write to their political representatives about their expectations. It is mission essential to note that some marginal electorates are wavering in their views and it is also mission essential that you lobby your ex-service organisation to enter the marginal seats debate It is mission critical that you similarly email serving uniformed members as they bear the brunt of much I have focussed on I've also updated the contact details of people who may be tilting the seesaw against our favour - see the Your Say webpage Lastly - be aware that many other organisations such as SCOA may be able to join us in a united campaign... they too have suffered the brunt of the harsh realities of unfairly indexed superannuation pensions 30 Dec 09 Time for a critically important update... Those who know me will understand that I am well overdue for a rant -
nevertheless I will try and keep this logical and coherent 26 Oct 09 I received my MSBS Member Statement last Friday... Not good news at all... - 10.3 % interest rate for the financial year 08/09 (and most likely another negative interest rate next year too) Billions of dollars - gone !!! I reckon it'll take the average digger two years of contributions to catch up on their losses... no doubt many will take far longer Spare a thought for the poor bastards who transferred from PSS to PSSAP At least we as MSBS members have the added insurance of a defined benefit scheme for which we should be eternally grateful And what would have happened if we indeed had a new military superannuation accumulation plan or if heaven forbid we had have transferred from MSBS to same - yep - you guessed it - bread and dripping for our golden years in retirement It's certainly not the climate in which to introduce an accumulation plan but it is far too attractive in terms of unfunded Government contributions for the bean counters to ignore And which Senator said an accumulation plan was 8 % higher than the rate of inflation... hard to understand that when the compound interest rate since inception of MSBS is yep 6.0 % 4 Oct 09 I'm reading a lot lately how the military has received very generous superannuation benefits reflecting the unique nature of military service... all publicly available if you google to your heart's content Have we ? methinx the answer is a resounding NO Have a look at the PSS super book http://www.pss.gov.au/documents/publications/pssbook.pdf Then have a gander at THE MILITARYSUPER BOOK http://www.militarysuper.gov.au/_lib/pdf/milsuperbook.pdf Is it any surprise that they appear to be a mirror image of each other in many ways ? It's time we turned the question inside out... what unique nature of ummm service do Commonwealth public servants have that merits an apparent mirror image of the indexed pension, and death or invalidity benefits that the military has ? I've said it before and I'll say it again that my opinion is that MSBS is on a near par with PSS and that in some ways PSS has distinct advantages GOOD QUESTION WHICH I AM FLABBERGASTED ABOUT... But are the invalidity benefits that equitable ? Let's not mention that Defence recommends that you take out additional insurance if you are deployed... I have to delve a bit deeper into invalidity benefits at some stage - there appears to be an inequity for members who enlist/transfer to the ARA later in life and thus have less prospective years of service... I'm cautious about advancing this thread until I have explored how the invalidity benefits are calculated for any separate preserved benefits that such a member may have... more to follow over 12 Oct 09 You'll notice that I have focussed on issues apart from the vexing indexation question and so-called taxation inequities My opinion is that MSBS needs a revamp to fix a number of issues that I consider are relevant in today's world and that are near and dear to my heart I'm wary of too much too quickly and will defer other gripes until I have made some progress towards what I consider to be priorities 9 Oct 09 email works ! Some graphics uploaded Webcounter is spinning but tis more the peak service and ex-service organisations having a peek at this stage I'm weblinked from http://dfwa.org.au/?ID=bd1f9bd876f0158fb91a9b1908fdae1d Whoah - google the upcoming Henry Report for even more superannuation bad news on the way Very little email or comment yet but wait and see 5 Oct 09 Some thoughts for the day... I have to check the ftp on my server in the USA to see if email works... It's perhaps timely to point out that it wouldn't hurt Defence to commission a survey/review on serving uniformed members views of the current superannuation schemes Given that there is some angst and given that you could be forgiven for asking that are the current (and old) schemes outdated in our contemporary environment - is a survey/review relevant ? I'm certain that there are likely to be many suggestions that may be helpful - the moot point is whether there is the horsepower to change anything... Uncharted waters for Defence revolve around the seeming need to postion itself with a united front flanking DFWA and other ex-service organisations that fight on our behalf... and the realisation that this may mean that Defence has to adopt a position on issues facing members when they discharge ie the vexing indexation question and the so-called taxation inequities facing retirees from the Defence Force (amongst others)... It's perhaps timely for a survey/review to be dealt with now in that it is unlikely for a new accumulation scheme to be introduced as early as was proposed given the uncertainties of the economic climate - or is it ? - the savings with unfunded contributions must propel the issue forward This would at least give time for a greater debate and allow sticking points like the purchasing power of pensions from an accumulation scheme versus the present now generous arrangements to be discussed in some detail And certainly its time to have a greater debate about the rewards for our special conditions of service unique to our profession of arms. I've said that I believe we are not high achievers when many will think that we have or should have done well given that there is chapter and verse about how we have excelled against the general population by virtue of who we are and what we do - I still think this is NOT so in terms of superannuation... The doomsayers will say that at the end of the day nothing will change... Government is unlikely to pump more funding into benefits and it is unlikely that the taxation regime or indexation arrangements will be cushioned And - against a climate of self-funding and the plan to decimate unfunded contributions - is there any chance that we will do better ? Perhaps not or is this just being cynical ? Adieu for now 3 Oct 09 Now open for business Your comments and feedback are essential Send the URL of this website to all military members for comments and feedback before it becomes too late
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