Bad news for WA

Dear Editor, Am sure your readers will peruse this sad article! Yours sincerely, Edward/Eddie Hwang. Rates rises and low wage growth will be hit to confidence Shane Wright, Economics Editor Perth Now August 31, 2018 2:01AM THE WA and national economies could be put at risk by a cash grab from Australia’s big banks, which are poised to lift mortgage interest rates to protect their bottom lines. As figures show sharp increases in the number of West Australians falling behind on their mortgages, there are warnings the interest rate increase by Westpac — and those expected to follow from the Commonwealth, NAB and ANZ — could do major economic damage, especially in WA. Westpac will lift its mortgage rates by 0.14 percentage points from September 19, adding $49 a month to the repayments on a $400,000 mortgage. It was the first of the big banks to lift rates, though smaller institutions have been gradually increasing rates because of higher international borrowing costs. Prime Minister and former treasurer Scott Morrison said Westpac had to explain its actions, signalling concern about the economic impact. “They have to justify in this environment, when people are really feeling it, why they believe they need to clip that ticket a little harder when people in Australia and their customers are, I think, doing it tough,” he said. Opposition Leader Bill Shorten, campaigning in Perth, told 6PR that the banks should consider slicing their profits and the pay of senior executives rather than pass on damaging interest rate rises. WA Chamber of Commerce and Industry chief economist Rick Newnham said while confidence had been rising among the State’s consumers, cost-of-living pressures were still the biggest problem for shoppers. “A rise in variable home loan rates will put a dampener on WA’s renewed optimism, particularly for West Australian families, given one in five consumers are currently unable to pay their bills on time,” he said. AMP chief economist Shane Oliver said the nation was facing a series of issues which, by themselves, were easily manageable. But a combination of low wages growth, high household debt, falling house prices, the drought and a possible change in Gov-ernment, which could mean changes to negative gearing, could create problems. “By itself we’re talking about a 14 basis point increase but there’s a lot of other things going on, so this could be a problem,” Mr Oliver said. “It gets worse if people think the banks are going to increase their interest rates even more — they start winding back their spending and that will feed into the economy.” The extent of the risks posed by out-of-cycle interest rate increases by the major banks is evident in figures from ratings agency S&P Global. Six of the 10 postcodes in Australia with the highest proportion of people behind at least 30 days on their mortgage repayments are in WA. Six per cent of people in Byford are behind. In South Perth, the proportion has more than doubled to 4 per cent. Other areas with high arrears rates include Beechboro, Safety Bay, Butler, High Wycombe, Maddington, Quinns Rocks and Kalgoorlie.

Angela Merkel

Dear Editor, Am sure your readers woh will keen to perus the article Yours sincerely, Edward/Eddie Hwang. Angela Merkel's political heir 'may bring back' national service By Justin Huggler -7th Aagust 2018 Share on Twitter Send via Email Normal text sizeLarger text sizeVery large text size 0 Leave a comment Berlin: There were calls for a referendum in Germany on Monday after Angela Merkel's likely successor said that she was ready to consider the return of national service. Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, who is widely seen as Merkel's designated heir, surprised Germany last week when she said she was open to "very intense" discussion. Angela Merkel, Germany's chancellor and Christian Democratic Union (CDU) leader, left, and Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, general secretary of the Christian Democrat Union (CDU). Angela Merkel, Germany's chancellor and Christian Democratic Union (CDU) leader, left, and Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, general secretary of the Christian Democrat Union (CDU). Photo: Bloomberg Opinion polls showed more than 55 per cent of Germans support the reintroduction of conscription. But a spokesman for Merkel's government made clear that a return to compulsory military service was out of the question. Instead calls are mounting for a scheme under which young people could choose between a year's military service or some form of social service. Germany ended conscription in 2011 in favour of a professional army but has been struggling to recruit troops in recent years. German Bundeswehr soldiers German Bundeswehr soldiers Photo: AP Troop shortages have become so severe that the ministry of defence recently said it was considering recruiting citizens of other EU countries to make up the shortfall. While a referendum is unlikely, given strict restrictions in the German constitution, a poll released this month found that 55.6 per cent of Germans are in favour of a return to military conscription, while only 39.6 per cent are against. The only party that has come out fully in favour of a return to conscription is the nationalist Alternative for Germany (AfD) and there has been speculation that Ms Kramp-Karrenbauer was trying to entice AfD voters back to the CDU by reopening the debate on national service. Telegraph, LondonA

Re: Zero account?

Zero account?Dear Mr. Lew, Can you let me know as to why my pre-paid account is zero as I have not use my mobile : 0401 685 759 over the past six months? Looking forward to hearing from you soon. Yours ssincerely, Edward Hwang Hon,President Unity Party WA info@unitywa.org Blogger:Bloger Dashboard Twitter.com/unitypartywa Ph/Fax: 61893681884 Protect environment-save trees-use Email. UPWA is the only political party that calls a spade a spade.

Banking Cartel

Dear Editor, We definitely agree that the chief RBA chief and Chief Banking Ombudsman Tregillis are both doing an excellent job. Yours sincerely Edward/Eddie Hwang Blogger: Bloger Dashboard Behaviour of banks has been appalling: RBA chief Philip Lowe Shane Wright, Economics EditorThe West Australian Saturday, 18 August 2018 8:01AM RBA's Lowe Sees Rates Steady `For a While Yet' Australian central bank chief Philip Lowe said interest rates are likely to remain at a record low "for a while yet" while lamenting the local currency's resilience. Reserve Bank governor Philip Lowe has demanded the nation’s banks look after their customers’ needs rather than swell their own pay packets, labelling revelations out of the royal commission as appalling. Dr Lowe, giving evidence to a parliamentary committee, backed the commission as necessary “disinfectant” for the clear failings of the nation’s banks. The commission has spent the past fortnight focusing on the superannuation sector with revelations of fees being taken from dead customers, conflicts of interest within banks and of delays moving customers to low-fee superannuation funds. Dr Lowe said some of the revelations had gone to the heart of banking, eating away at public trust in them. “I’m incredibly disappointed and in many cases I have been appalled at the behaviour that has come out of the royal commission,” he said. Dr Lowe said the commission had revealed major dysfunction in the remuneration systems within banks. He said that rather than acting in the best interest of clients, banks instead sought to look after themselves and the financial benefits flowing to senior executives. “Top of mind has been maximising financial returns and that is very problematic,” he said. “We need to rebuild trust and we need to have a very strong focus on delivering service rather than sales.” The royal commission was only ordered by Malcolm Turnbull after rebel MPs threatened to start their own inquiry. Both he and Treasurer Scott Morrison argued a royal commission would undermine confidence in the banking sector. But Dr Lowe said he had no issues with the commission, arguing it had been a force for good. “Sunlight is acting as a very good disinfectant here and we need this disinfectant and it is actually working,” he said. “The community is getting a better understanding and will get better outcomes in the financial sector as a result of this.” Opposition financial services spokeswoman Clare O’Neil said Dr Lowe’s comments showed the importance of the royal commission. TOPICS

Racist Pauline

Dear Editor, Why racist Pauline was not there in person rather than in a cardboard box? It does not matter what she say, Pauline always following orders from her Chief of staff James Asbby! Eddie Hwang Hon. President Unity Party WA info@unitywa.org Blogger:Bloger Dashboard Twitter.com/unitypartywa Ph/Fax: 61893681884 Protect environment-save trees-use Email. UPWA is the only political party that calls a spade a spade. 'As good as her': Pauline Hanson life-size cutouts replace leader at byelection Cardboard figures will be at every polling booth in the Queensland seat of Longman Fri 27 Jul 2018 11.15 AEST Last modified on Fri 27 Jul 2018 11.16 AEST Cardboard cutouts of Pauline Hanson Cardboard cutouts of One Nation leader Pauline Hanson are seen at a pre-polling station in Morayfield, Queensland on Friday. Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAP Fifty life-size cardboard cutouts of Pauline Hanson have been delivered to the marginal seat of Longman while the One Nation leader is on holiday. The cardboard Hanson will be at every polling booth in the Queensland seat for Saturday’s byelection, where One Nation preferences may decide the contest between Labor and the Liberal National party. Hanson’s chief of staff, James Ashby, revealed the thinking behind the tactic to Brisbane’s Courier-Mail, saying the cardboard Hansons were “as good as her”. “A photo visual of Pauline is as good as her being there because it is a presence,” he said. “People will still be able to come and get a photo with Pauline. One Nation candidate received $66,000 payout three weeks before selling debt-laden company Read more One Nation’s Queensland leader, Steve Dickson, told the Australian he thought the cutouts looked “pretty good”. “If you can’t have the real person on the day, let’s have the identity of the real person,” he said. “It’s a life-size cutout.” Matthew Stephen, One Nation’s candidate in the seat, was snapped carrying and posing with the cutouts on Friday. Hanson has been absent from the final week of the campaign, but Ashby told the Courier-Mail she was in daily contact from aboard her cruise ship in Europe.

Racist Pauline

Opinion: Pauline Hanson’s meltdown on Brian Burston affair highlights One Nation is a dictatorship Paul MurrayThe West Australian Wednesday, 6 June 2018 2:00AM Illustration: Don Lindsay Illustration: Don LindsayPicture: Illustration: Don Lindsay Stress testing is a good way to iron out the kinks in an organisation. Banks use it internally to expose their vulnerabilities, so it’s obviously not infallible. On a more personal basis, it can also tell susceptible people if they are in line for a heart attack. Pauline Hanson’s One Nation underwent a version of stress testing last week with the Dear Leader’s meltdown in a national television interview that tested her political honesty. Not only did it show that One Nation is a democratic political party in name only, but it also indicated that a corporate coronary arrest is on the cards again. One of the hallmarks of political parties in Western democracies is that they can demonstrate they operate openly and accountably. And democratically. What we saw in the Brian Burston affair is that One Nation is a dictatorship. Frankly, this has been an open secret in politics for some time. Anyone who has had dealings with One Nation tells the story that disagreeing with Hanson is terminal. And, as one of Hanson’s former svengalis, David Oldfield, has said publicly, she is the drawcard to the party but also the cause of its repeated failures. A party with only three members in the Federal Parliament does not need a whip — it’s a sinecure at best — but Hanson’s unilateral decision to sack NSW senator Brian Burston from the position two weeks ago signalled she was out of control again. There are two specific instances during this stress testing of One Nation that shows how undemocratically it operates. It is not unusual for minor parties to cut deals over the passage of legislation through the Senate. What we found out about Hanson’s reneging on the deal that each of its three senators made with Finance Minister Mathias Cormann over company tax legislation is alarming. Hanson told Ben Fordham in the infamous Sky News interview she had rung WA One Nation senator Peter Georgiou and Burston on Monday last week and said she had changed her mind. She announced the backflip before any partyroom meeting could be held — which would have been obligatory in a properly operating political outfit — and was enraged when Burston insisted on sticking with the deal. Cormann was clearly sugaring the pot for each senator’s home State, which led Hanson to accuse Burston of “selling himself out for $55 million”. In WA, Georgiou was to get an MRI machine. It is unknown what Hanson bartered for Queensland, but it obviously wasn’t enough. Then there’s Hanson’s subsequent attempt to expel Burston. One Nation’s constitution is explicit on that issue. The version posted on its website says this about the executive’s powers: “The national executive shall have the power to expel from the party or remove from their position of office any individual in any subordinate body, division, executive body or committee”. The constitution says the national executive must have at least three members and among them has to be the president, national treasurer and national secretary. The letter sent to Burston on June 1, without Hanson nominating in what capacity she was writing, makes no mention of any decision of the national executive which would be the usual practice if it had made one. “I no longer have confidence in you as an officer of Pauline Hanson’s One Nation,” it read. “You have been removed as deputy registered officer in NSW and in the Federal party. “Please consider resigning from the Senate seat and handing it back to the party. It would be the honourable thing to do as you would not be a senator but for your association with me. “You describe yourself as loyal to me and I now ask that you demonstrate that loyalty by giving up your seat in the Senate to enable the party to appoint a replacement NSW senator.” The megalomania in that letter is hard to overstate. Hanson had the right as president under the constitution to remove Burston as a registered officer, but not as a senator. Her overreach can be explained by the party’s peculiar constitution which makes her president for life, in effect. It would not be out of place in North Korea: “The president of the party is Pauline Lee Hanson. Upon resigning from the position of president, Pauline Lee Hanson shall appoint her successor to become the next president of the party. The president of the party following Pauline Lee Hanson’s successor shall be appointed by majority vote of the national executive.” But in the meantime, it obviously remains a dictatorship. No term limits are stated for Hanson’s presidency or her successor’s. How could a constitution like that ever translate into a democratic government? One Nation has been unable to develop the democratic processes of normal political parties because Hanson simply will not allow it. She shows all the paranoia of dictators at losing even the slightest control. No one is trusted. She relies on one or two close male advisers with whom she has dysfunctional relationships and who act as gatekeepers. Anyone who challenges her on policy matters — or wants to know about the party’s finances — is purged. Even she sees the pattern repeating itself. “I’m sorry to the Australian people that this has happened again,” Hanson tearfully told Fordham. “But it’s the same with Rod Culleton (Senator Georgiou’s predecessor and brother-in-law), it was the same with Fraser Anning (former One Nation senator who became an independent). They haven’t got the intestinal fortitude. “It’s all about themselves. Self-serving. Well I don’t want people like that. Yes, there’s going to be mistakes and I have made mistakes, but I’ll tell you what, at the end of the day, I will win and I’m going to ensure that I’m there with people beside me strongly united, working for the people of this country.”

Racist Pauline

Dear Editor, the best thing that happened to racist Pauline Hanson. Unity Party WA welcome more to follow Senator Burston as there are too many racist like Senator Hanson! Yours sincerely, Edward Hwang Hon. President Unity Party WA info@unitywa.org Blogger- Bloger Dashboard Twitter.com/unitypartywa Phone: 93681884. Unity Party WA is the only political party that calls a spade, a spade..