Tony wants his nanny!

What is in dispute is how it would be paid for. Joe Hockey told Q&A on Monday the scheme would be "fully funded by abolishing the existing scheme and, importantly, by imposing the 1.5 per cent levy on the largest businesses".

Would those two measures by themselves do the trick?
Or would the Coalition need "deeper cuts to families, education, health and jobs," as finance minister Penny Wong says?
Hockey earlier fumbled on Melbourne radio claiming variously that “100 per cent” of the scheme was to be funded by the levy on big businesses and then "at least 50 or 60 per cent, 60 or 70 per cent, but I'm not going to speculate because I haven't got the numbers in front of me".

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/fact-checker/is-joe-hockey-right-about-coalition-funding-for-paid-parental-leave-20130821-2saks.html#ixzz2cZrPiG00

The real financial gain for women under the Coalition's $5.5bn paid parental leave plan could be half that claimed by leader Tony Abbott, new modelling of the controversial scheme shows.

Abbott said his scheme is proof that he "gets" modern women and that it "will result in a woman earning the average full time salary of around $65,000 receiving $32,500 – and they will be around $21,300 better off under the Coalition's scheme relative to Labor's scheme."

But the modelling, by the National Centre for Social and Economic Modelling (NATSEM), shows a woman with one child and a new baby earning $65,000 would in fact be better off compared with Labor's scheme by somewhere between $10,604 and $14,895 (depending on her partner's income) once reduced family tax benefit payments and income tax was taken into account.

Savings to the government from lower family tax benefit payments and income tax paid on the parental leave payments are included in the costings of the paid parental leave scheme that the Coalition has so far refused to release.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/aug/20/benefit-coalition-paid-parental-leave

Labor has attacked the Opposition's multi-billion-dollar paid parental leave policy as a "huge hit" to "every single worker" through their superannuation schemes.

The policy will be partly funded by a 1.5 per cent levy on big business which the Shareholders Association agrees will hurt investors because they will not be able to claim a franking credit on the tax hike.

Franking credits are a tax break given to investors on tax already paid by a company, to ensure profits are not taxed twice.

Treasurer Chris Bowen has taken a hammer to Tony Abbott's "signature" policy, warning it will cost workers.

"There will be no franking credits so it will be paid again by Australia's shareholders, investors, superannuation holders and mum and dad investors across the country," he said.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-08-21/tony-abbott-wrong-on-vaccination-rates/4899740

Anyone with half a brain can see that Tony's nanny State is a way to give a few rich women more leisure time at the expense of everyone else... I don't think "big business' should be impressed by having to hold the baby and the bath water... What Labor has, is not perfect but works far better than what Tony wants us to buy... It's the same with the NBN, the coalition is planning a concoction of wires that will achieve little more than what you're getting already — while crossing their fingers that the copper network to your home will hold for another year... In my humble opinion they have no intent of constructing any worthwhile NBN due to "budget restriction"... under non-core promises... As well all other plans by the Coalition are iffy and pie-in-the-sky stuff during a blue moon...

And not only that Tony lies with such confidence, he thinks nobody would take him up, though "journalists" (they are not journos, just spruikers and hacks) should know better and question him harder:

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Opposition Leader Tony Abbott says child immunisation rates have fallen under the Labor government.

"[During the Howard government] vaccination rates went back up over 90 per cent, a great achievement of a Coalition government," Mr Abbott told the Ten network's Meet the Press on August 18

"Now they are dropping back again," he said.

"I think it is important to do what we reasonably can to get them up again... I just wish that this Government hadn't presided over a reduction in vaccination rates."

Later that day, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said Mr Abbott had his facts wrong.

"When we came to office, the immunisation rate for five-year-olds was standing at 83 per cent," Mr Rudd said during a press conference at Westmead Hospital in Sydney's west.

"Through the excellent efforts of Tanya Plibersek, the Health Minister, and our colleagues across the states, we have lifted that to 90 per cent and reinforced that work through our Medicare Local teams, who have immunisation officers at work as well," he said

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-08-21/tony-abbott-wrong-on-vaccination-rates/4899740

The "Meet the Press" team? A bunch of soggy lettuce for not taking Abbott on this lie alone...