Sunday Sanity Break. 7 April 2019 – The budget – and new paintings (Religious)

That was the week that was. The battle of the budgets. These confirmed that Labor is going for high taxation while the Coalition is going for low taxation. Labor promises more cash for healthcare and schools (allegedly ‘education’ though money is not the issue, just lousy teaching.

The Coalition has promised to cut taxes, but not too soon. As Peter Costello said, cynical (or just realistic) folk are likely to doubt the value of such a promise. Still, for clear thinker, Josh Frydenberg might well be held to a promise, but so will Bill (‘soak the rich’) Shorten.

Paul Kelly points out that Labor has matched tax cuts for people who earn low amounts but have very different visions for the longer term future. Here is a warning for Shorten’s party. ‘The public, to a large extent, is not yet engaged. Yet doubts about Shorten and the fact that his tax policies will hurt many households are Morrison’s best hope in the election. The more retirees and investors focus on Shorten’s agenda — notably the crackdown on negative gearing amid falling property markets, and halting cash refunds of franking credits — the more people will worry. This will be critical in the final week of the campaign, with many people making up their minds only in the last days and hours.’

Read on here.

Another fine article in today’s Oz deserves notice. Janet Albrechtsen discusses former High Court Judge, Robert French’s review of the state of free speech in universities. This will be a necessary shot in the arm for Australia’s Vice Chancellors if it gets implemented, but it may have to wait until the likely Shorten government is dismissed in three or six years.

I suggest anyone interested in free speech cut this article out and remind the next Liberal minister for Education to implement Justice French’s review. Read the article here.

Kulture

Henry's editor Pete Jonson has produced two new paintings and has started a new category – ReligioArt. Please let him know what you think of the series, gentle readers. Here is the link.

Contact Pete Jonson here. No reasonable offer turned down.

Sporting life

Caaarlton! fought well against the Swans but sadly lost by 19 points. Three zero now, an)d little chance of making the finals (just joking Comrades), but each loss was by not much against strong opponants. The young Caaaarlton! future superstars fumbled the ball at crucial moments and often hurried and lost the ball. Soon they will gain confidence, Comrades, and then we can dust off our scarves and start going to games again.

In other games, West Coast beat Collingwood at the ‘G’, Essendon got its act together to overwhelm Melbourne. The new rules seem to have produced more exciting footy , or am I confusing new rules with a better Caaaarlton! performance?

Image of the week – Last Supper