In which the pond wastes time with minor reptiles before a late breaking Groaning arrives on the scene ...

 

Some days the pond struggles to pay attention in its herpetology class, a bit like doing a deep dive into the ablative in Latin ...

This was one of those days, what with the reptiles still obsessed with the "Tehran terror" and the Higgins matter ...

And as for the Midwinter ball? Fergeddit ...

Over on the extreme far right there was no relief and only one mystery ...

The deep mystery?

Why hadn't Dame Slap made a special effort to turn up and gloat over the Higgins matter? A mystery compounded by pond correspondent expectations and hopes ...

Never mind, the pond has to find some way to fill the existential void and that's how the pond ended up with that lesser member of the Kelly gang, a certain Joe ...

The header: Marles’ mystery visit to US raises more questions than answers amid mix-ups, The Deputy Prime Minister’s Washington visit, intended to strengthen US-Australia ties, was marked by last-minute meetings and unresolved questions about AUKUS and defence spending.

The caption for the snap showing three delusional hacks in company: Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles with US Vice-President JD Vance and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth at the White House.

Experienced lizard Oz observers might wonder why the bromancer wasn't in full fulminating flight, and to be fair, Jennings of the fifth form stormed on to the scene later in the morning ...

The penny drops: US is losing faith in our reliability
Richard Marles travelled to Washington DC without even securing a meeting with Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth. This is amateur hour.
By Peter Jennings
Contributor

What a twit, and perhaps that helps explain why Joe was assigned to cover this very Seinfeld outing, but it was only two minutes, so the reptiles said, so where's the harm in delving into the mystery with Joe ...

Richard Marles was on a mission for Australia this week in Washington DC, but his purpose and whether he succeeded are mysteries.
His meetings with the Trump administration have raised more questions than answers and the evidence suggests the visit did not go according to script.
The Deputy Prime Minister left the US on Tuesday, local time, after cancelling a news conference and without answering a single question from the media.
His key engagements appeared to have been secured at the last minute – lending the entire trip an improvised atmospheric. Yet, on the surface, it must be seen as a success.
Marles obtained in-person meetings with Vice-President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the White House – two of the most powerful people in the Trump administration.
He also met White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller.
This should be seen as a clear symbol of the strong relationship between Canberra and Washington and the high-level access afforded to Australian ministers – a good news story for the Albanese government.
Except this isn’t why Marles said he was travelling to America.

Must be seen as a success? 

Now, as noted, Jennings of the fifth form did make a belated appearance on the extreme far right, but the pond rarely likes to head back to the fifth form with him.

Anyone wanting to step back into the past can head off to the archive...

The pond is content just noting Frank's fearless artwork ...

Blame AI, Frank, blame AI ...

As if Jennings of the fifth form's attempt at pretending everything was normal amounted to more than a hill of beans, as if the penny hadn't dropped, and many had begun to lose faith in US reliability

As if trying to pretend everything was normal in a Washington where armed troops patrol the streets waging war on the citizenry, as if trying to get in on the insanity could be called a success ...

Political observers around the world have ridiculed President Donald Trump’s latest fawning Cabinet meeting, describing the sycophantic display as a carnival of “butt-snorkeling” and “boot-licking”.
After a three-hour-plus spectacle on Tuesday in which Trump’s loyal team credited him with everything from saving whales to reviving Christianity, social media lit up with people likening the bizarre display to authoritarian states.
“Coming soon to Broadway: “Dear Leader: The Musical,” said Zhai Xiang, a scholar on China-US Relations.
“This is all insane. Absolutely mad. America as North Korea, as Stalin’s USSR, as a pantomime dictatorship,” wrote Ian Garner, an author and professor at the Pilecki Institute....
“In the Army we called this “Butt-snorkeling,” said former US commander general Ben Hodges.
... Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr credited Trump for saving whales. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick described the administration as “the greatest Cabinet working for the greatest president.”
Agriculture Secretary Brook Rollins thanked Trump “for saving college football,” while Special Envoy Steve Witkoff told Trump he was the “single finest candidate” to ever seek the Nobel Peace Prize.
“Your success is game changing out in the world today, and I hope everybody wakes up one day and realizes that,” he said as the room applauded.
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, whose relationship with Trump was tested earlier this year over past comments on Iran, also weighed in by repeating claims about the so-called Russia “hoax” by former Obama officials.
“We are finding documents literally tucked away in the back of safes in random offices, in bags, and other areas, which speaks to the intent of those trying to hide the truth to the American people, led by those like John Brennan and James Clapper,” she told the president, who praised her for her work.
British-American journalist Mehdi Hasan accused the former Democratic Congresswoman of selling out.
“Gabbard spent much of her time as a Democrat attacking Obama and Biden, but now fawns over Trump. The things people do for power,” he said.
The most gushing contribution on Tuesday, however, came from Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer, whose department now displays a giant banner of Trump’s face.
The banner, which is based on Trump’s second inaugural portrait and contains the words “American Workers First” drapes over three stories of the building in downtown D.C., alongside a portrait of former Republican president Theodore Roosevelt.
“If you all haven’t stopped by the Department of Labor, Mr. President, I invite you to see your big, beautiful face on a banner in front of the Department of Labor, because you are really the transformational president of the American worker,” said Chavez-DeRemer, a former Congresswoman for Oregon.

Yes, they really did go full Adolf ...

Social media didn’t hold back.
“After three hours of bootlicking, smoke blowing, and some heartfelt cultic worship at Trump’s cabinet meeting, Proverbs 29:12 comes to mind: ‘If a ruler listens to lies, all his officials become wicked’,” wrote one user.
“It’s like a competition of ass kissers,” said another.

Enough of the low comedy, back with Joe and former chairman Rudd and misfiring Marles pretending it was all hunky dory, Ambassador to the United States Kevin Rudd and Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles catch up with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the White House.

Joe continued with a straight face:

The Defence Minister’s main public reason for rushing to Washington was to meet Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth.
This was crucial given Australia is under immense pressure from the US after rebuffing a request – by Hegseth – to increase defence spending to 3.5 per cent of GDP.
A major review being conducted by the Pentagon into the landmark AUKUS agreement also threatens plans for Washington to sell Australia Virginia-class submarines from the early 2030s.
The situation has been made more uncertain given Anthony Albanese’s failure to meet Donald Trump and the growing rift with Washington on key policy matters – including recognition of a Palestinian state.
Marles may have been on a simple mission to assure the US that it could still rely on Australia as an ally and partner. But there was a major problem.
As revealed by The Australian, Marles touched down in Washington to find that no meeting with Hegseth had been locked in. This sparked a diplomatic scramble on Monday, local time, and a short time later news emerged of meetings the next day with Vance, Rubio and Miller. The source of the mix-up with Hegseth and whether it was reflective of a deeper problem in the alliance relationship is unclear but unlikely.
Australian officials believe it was the result of a scheduling clash on the US side.

A scheduling clash? How tired and lame could it get, as there came a last snap, Mr Marles hosts a defence industry roundtable at the Australian Embassy in Washington DC.

In the end Joe finished with a whimper rather than a bang ...

In the end, Marles did see the Defence Secretary – although it appears they spoke only briefly.
While Marles issued a statement saying that he met Vance and Rubio to “reaffirm our commitment to the alliance and advance our strong partnership”, his engagement with Hegseth was given a more cosmetic description.
“It was fantastic to see Secretary Hegseth again, following our most recent meeting at the Shangri-La Dialogue in May,” Marles said.
He posted photos on social media of himself standing alongside both Vance and Hegseth, declaring the alliance was “built on our shared history of deep collaboration”.
A readout from the Australian side revealed that Marles discussed critical minerals and rare earths, investment opportunities, US-Australia defence ties including AUKUS, US force-posture initiatives and growing ties between both nations’ defence industrial bases as well as the need for deeper defence industry engagement. Yet, his overall agenda with the administration remains opaque – including whether he may have laid the groundwork for a face-to-face meeting between the President and the Prime Minister.
There is also no illumination on whether assurances were provided by the US on the future of AUKUS or if a further request was made for the Albanese government to increase the defence budget.
On these issues, it may better serve the government’s political interests to embrace ambiguity rather than clarity.

The pond saw only one upside - the folly had produced an inestimable infallible Pope cartoon, exploiting the pond's deep love of Alice (and never mind those nude shots) ...

La, la, la, la, lah de dah, sing along reliable doofus from the fifth form ...PM Modi Avoided 4 Calls From Trump Amid Tariff Tension: Report

Ah yes, the glories of the Quad. Back to school Jennings of the fifth form.

Next up came Geoff, chambering a squib of a round ...

The header: Turkey holds out on Anthony Albanese, Chris Bowen from UN COP climate dream, Emine Erdogan – the first lady of Turkey – has emerged as a thorn in the sides of Anthony Albanese and Climate Change Minister Chris Bowen.

The caption: President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his wife Emine Erdogan arrive at Huis ten Bosch Palace for a dinner during the NATO Summit 2025. Picture: Patrick van Katwijk/Getty Images

It was only another two minute outing, but the pond wondered why the reptiles cared or showed the slightest bit of interest?

Was it just a chance to rub Albo's nose in it, or were they worried they might miss out on a local chance to slag off climate science?

Whatever Geoff had chambered didn't explain the mystery ...

Emine Erdogan – the first lady of Turkey – has emerged as a thorn in the sides of Anthony Albanese and Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen as the government makes its last-ditch push to host the UN’s COP31 climate change conference in Adelaide next year.
The race to win the rights for the climate change extravaganza, which typically has cost $100m to $250m to run and attracts up to 40,000 delegates and participants, is going down to the wire.
Veteran UN climate summit watchers are perplexed the COP31 bid process has dragged on for so long and believe the wife of Turkish strongman Recep Tayyip Erdogan – a climate change activist – will fight to the end.
So far government officials have tried and failed to convince their Turkish counterparts to step aside and allow Australia and its South Pacific partners to co-host COP31 – formally the 31st Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change UN Climate Change Conference.

The reptiles flung in a snap of the villain, Turkish first lady Emine Erdogan speaks at the COP29 UN climate change summit in Azerbaijan in 2024. Picture: Getty Images

The pond tried to care, but it was a bit like caring about Olympics junkets. Instead of all that expensive, useless polluting air travel, and junketeering, why not hold the Olympics in Greece, and in that tradition, why not settle on Berlin, or perhaps Geneva, and avoid all this useless jostling for ostentatious display while the planet goes to hell in a handbasket?

The pond realises Türkiye has been under the hammer of late, but the actual track record in response, not so much ...

The dissonance between Türkiye’s mega-projects, strategic interests and environmental concerns
Türkiye’s ruling government is known for its ambitious infrastructure projects, such as dams, nuclear power plants, international airport, and mining and industrial facilities. These projects are not only economically or tourism-driven, but they also serve as potent symbols of national strength, helping position Türkiye on the global stage. For instance, the Istanbul Canal project, despite substantial environmental backlash and opposition from Istanbul’s major Ekrem İmamoğlu (CHP), is still promoted as a strategic undertaking. The government contends that the project holds strategic significance as it could potentially allow Türkiye to bypass the Montreux Convention, thus gaining greater control over military vessel passages from the Black Sea to the Sea of Marmara. Another instance of this dissonance was seen in the 2021 İkizdere mining activities. Despite local protests highlighting the environmental hazards of stone extraction – such as damage to water resources, biodiversity and agriculture – the mining operations continued, and even portions of the villagers’ lands were expropriated to facilitate the project. This demonstrates the government’s tendency to prioritize economic and strategic goals over environmental concerns.

BTW, did you see that cheeky graph in the ABC's finance report? (YouTube link)

The pond loves a droll graph - hello Jennings of the fifth form - but back to desperate proposals to have everybody troop down under for the reptiles' pleasure ...

Under pressure from UN representatives to work out a deal, a critical meeting in Bonn in June failed to end the impasse between Australia and Turkey over who would claim the presidency for COP31. If a deal can’t be made, Bonn will be the compromise choice.
Some believe the government should copy the British playbook when Boris Johnson’s government effectively paid off Turkey with generous incentives to win the rights to host the 2021 COP26 conference in Glasgow.
Mrs Erdogan, whose husband has been in power for two decades, was in the news earlier this week after she wrote to Melania Trump pleading with the US first lady to speak out about the suffering of children in Gaza and appeal directly to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to end “the humanitarian crisis in Gaza”.
The Prime Minister is expected to unveil the government’s long-awaited 2035 emissions reduction target in coming weeks ahead of his first UN General Assembly leaders’ summit in New York next month. The UN gathering is likely to present an opportunity for Albanese to secure support for Australia’s COP31 bid, backed by a more ambitious 2035 target of about 65 to 70 per cent.
Despite giving Scott Morrison a hard time for not turning up to COP summits (Morrison ended up going to Glasgow), Albanese has yet to attend one himself, leaving the horse-trading to Bowen.

Then came a snap that reminded the pond of the compleat futility of it all, Scott Morrison at COP26 Glasgow in 2021. Photo Annabel Moeller

It's all so the likes of the liar from the Shire can preen and pose, and clap on happily about the joys of doing nothing?

Wrap it up Geoff, wrap it up ...

Typically, a COP host would have already have been identified and allowed to progress planning.
Since 2022, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Azerbaijan have hosted UN climate change powwows. The other big question if Australia wins co-hosting rights is whether Bowen claims the role as COP president, which government insiders believe he would covet given the international profile of the job.
The Brazilian city of Belem, located at the mouth of the Amazon River, will host COP30 over 11 days in November. The drawn-out contest between Australia and Turkey is expected to be finalised by early November.
But if Australia misses out, Albanese will likely not attend as he manages a gruelling three-month overseas travel schedule expected to include stops in Port Moresby, Honiara, New York, London, Kuala Lumpur, Gyeongju and Johannesburg.

Don't worry Geoff, we can still keep on exporting gas and coal until the cows come home ...

And so to the only regular the pond noted in the early morning, and mein gott, an offering of Mein Gott is way better than nothing, even if it's just leftovers from yesterday's banquet ...

The header: Government charges pushing new home costs above market value, High taxes and complex bureaucracy are driving up building costs beyond market values, undermining the Albanese government's efforts to solve the housing crisis.

The caption for the way beyond bland snap of a meaningless street: The Albanese government’s first home buyers scheme will help a lot of younger Australian, but it doesn’t address the fundamental problem.

Mein Gott had some dubious sources and dubious notions, and more of them at the end ...

The Albanese government’s first-home buyers scheme will help a lot of younger Australian gain a dwelling, and it’s a good first step, but it does not address the fundamental problem.
In many areas of the dwelling market the cost of building, fuelled by government taxes plus construction costs, has risen to a point where, on a bricks-and-mortar comparison, it is cheaper to buy an existing dwelling than to build a new one.
This is not surprising because governments, both state and federal, mercilessly tax the building process to the point where a huge chunk of the cost of a dwelling is government charges and taxes.
Then in apartments, a militant union movement adds cost uncertainty, particularly in Brisbane.
And when there is a gap between market values and building costs, it makes banks nervous about lending.
The government is trying to reduce the gap with government or superannuation capital rather than tackling the fundamental problem.

Cue an anodyne snap with no particular meaning, Carpenter Philip Loft (L) and his brother Glenn working on a house at the Williams Landing estate in Laverton, southwest of Melbourne.

Mein Gott dragged in Harry, and the pond bit its tongue ...

The productivity inquiry correctly isolated that as well as taxes and construction costs, the chaotic approval process has also been a major factor reducing the level of home building.
For many years, I and others have been highlighting the enormous costs of the complex bureaucracies involved in housing approval. The delegates at least attempted to improve the situation, and, in some states it will work, but in places such as NSW the bureaucracies are so entrenched that I have my doubts.
During the deliberations, in The Australian, our largest apartment builder Harry Triguboff effectively warned the delegates that they had not gone far enough, and he tried to entice them into taking the next steps by predicting that if they reduced government charges and taxes they would actually gain more money because the volumes would rise.
Triguboff’s simple solution of reducing government charges so that the cost of the building declines, causing more dwellings to be built and total tax collections to rise, goes against the grain of every public servant.
They rarely understand that high taxes can actually reduce income. (Tobacco excise is another classic example.)
Triguboff has a series of Sydney apartment sites that took years to gain approval, but finally they have passed the hurdles and he started developments.
But, despite lower interest rates, suddenly local demand has collapsed and the reason for that fall, unless addressed, will affect the level of unsubsidised dwelling constructions in coming years.
The gap between the cost of building and the market value also makes bankers nervous given that they have all sorts of imposed income criteria now in lending.
Making it worse, Morgan Research says that while nationally year-on-year mortgage stress has eased, it has surged in the lowest socio-economic quintiles – a danger point for heavily borrowed first-home buyers.
Just as the productivity seminar didn’t address the reasons for the mining tragedy in South Australia, so they didn’t take the next step and look at the whole dwelling picture, including bank lending rules.
The industrial relations measures are curbing mining projects and are also going to push up the costs of major projects unless the unions ignore their new rights and powers, which is highly unlikely.
And of course, when buying off the plan provision needs to be made for escalating costs in building which makes the situation worse.
In the apartment market around the country, we are seeing the problem being addressed by governments helping developers develop rental properties.

Cue another meaningless snap, Builders on a house construction site in Canterbury Rd, Forest Hill

On with Harry, apparently there's no trouble with Harry...

If the cost of dwellings is not reduced, then the sort of non-subsidised housing recovery rate that the government is looking for will require higher prices for existing dwellings.
While the interest rate reductions will help, the gap is too big and there is now an extra dimension which is making some banks apprehensive.
All the major banks have looked closely at the potential of artificial intelligence and enhanced computing to substantially reduce their net labour costs. And they know that there are also many non banking areas where AI can also be applied to reduce labour requirements. Understandably, that makes them that little bit more nervous about lending large sums to middle-income Australia to build dwellings that at least in the short term could cause losses if they are sold.
In Triguboff’s world, to get people to buy off the plan requires them to see a profit, at least on paper at the time of decision-making. Again, the great weakness of the productivity seminar was that it focused far too much on how to restructure the taxation system to gain more revenue instead of actually trying to grow the economy.
If the approval system and first-homebuyer help doesn’t stimulate non-subsidised housing to the extent that government requires, then it will be necessary to listen to people like Triguboff and change the tax regime to stimulate growth and increase revenue. But that is not going to be easy.

All that surely deserved a reward, and so it came in the form of a snap, Meriton founder Harry Triguboff. Picture: Jane Dempster/The Australian

Mein Gott wrapped up ...

For the moment, the industrial relations laws are in the too-hard basket.
And on the political front, it is stunning that the Coalition hasn’t caught on to what happened in SA with BHP and the real reasons why demand for new dwellings in many areas is subdued.

... and the pond could hold its tongue no longer, because Meriton is the cockroach of the Sydney building scene, and all that's wrong with it ...

 Claims Meriton’s $100m Sydney mega development has $123m worth of defects

You could spend hours trawling for low lights ... Meriton flouted government orders, safety officer blows the whistle

There was the ACCC pretending it actually did things, to the vast amusement of the pond ...

And then there was the granddaddy of all follies, Meriton's war of World Tower

And so on and on and on ...

But wait, later on in the morning, there came a wail of pain, a howl of grief, and the reptiles gave the anguish a big splash, so important that the groaning landed just below the talk of Tehran terror ...

It swept the story of the US shooter out of sight, as Dame Groan took aim ...

How could the pond ignore the cry, especially because the reptiles loved that graphic so ...

The header: Leave older Australians alone and rein in government spending, Australia stands on the brink of an artificial generational divide as Labor's tax plans target the savings of elderly citizens. After all, old people and the wealthy typically don’t vote Labor.

The caption: Jim Chalemrs is reluctant to tax income and consumption any more. So, the only alternative is to go for savings and wealth — and the older people have it. (Sic, so and thus, the pond merely reports so that others can learn to spell and spot a typo. Blame it on AI Frank, blame the AI)

At last a full five minute quid from that old biddy ranting away about a war with vulgar youff.

Don't expect the pond to get in the way.

Unleash the hound, let her do her worst ...

Is this the beginning of a confected generational clash?

Well yes, and Dame Groan is a mistress of confection, now see how she gaily confects away...

You know the sort of thing: Nan and Pop or Mum and Dad had it so easy and now they don’t pay any tax and are sitting on piles of wealth. They also cost the taxpayer heaps in health and aged care costs as well as the Age Pension.
The rallying cry?
Young people unite to strip the oldies of some of their wealth and tax the hell out of them. It’s not just right, it’s economically efficient – or so the young ones are told.
This is music to Jim Chalmers’ ears; he now claims “one of the imperfections (of the tax system) is best seen through an intergenerational lens”.
After all, old people and the wealthy typically don’t vote Labor, so there’s no electoral loss there.
He is reluctant to tax income and consumption any more. So, the only alternative is to go for savings and wealth given that the Labor government has no intention of curtailing its spending plans.
And who holds the wealth? Older people. They always have because that it is the natural life cycle of asset accumulation.
But what the heck, facts are a minor part of building up a rationale for the government’s ambitious taxing plans.
But there’s no point comparing the incomes of oldies to today’s crop of 18 to 30-year-olds relative to four or five decades ago.
These days, a gap year often is in order after leaving school later.
Then there’s a scenic tour through a double degree and possibly a master’s degree. Using Mum and Dad’s house as a well-catered hotel is handy. Marriage, a serious job and home ownership are for their fourth decade at the earliest, and that’s not for everyone.

The pond can't begin to imagine the number of moths the reptiles had to beat out of this incredibly silly and useless illustration, Retirees are being targeted despite accumulating superannuation – as designed – because of government legislation.

The ancient art of stereotypes, caricatures and cliché will survive so long as there's the remnants of the lizard Oz graphics department struggling on with stock snaps ...

It is not surprising therefore that the incomes of those aged 18 to 30 have slipped relative to those over 65. But should we read anything into this finding apart from the delay to maturity on the part of young people, a process that is, incidentally, highly subsidised by the parents?
It’s also worth mentioning here that we are all living longer, which is surely a good thing. It is only in their final years that older people start to impose a substantial fiscal burden on taxpayers through health and aged care costs. In the past, most old people didn’t live long enough to require admission to a nursing home. Quite a few of them, men particularly, just died.

Next came an AV distraction, Labor has announced it will accelerate an expanded government-backed deposit scheme to help first home buyers. The five per cent deposit scheme will start on October 1, three months earlier than planned. It is the government’s latest move to help ease the housing crisis, a day after announcing it would freeze the National Construction Code until 2029. The prime minister has confirmed the scheme will reflect average home prices. “These measures … are all about delivering increased supply but also delivering increased home ownership, increased affordable rentals, and increased public housing and affordable housing as well,” Mr Albanese said.

Dame Groan maintained her rage, doing her best to confect intergenerational conflict ...

Here’s another thing that is sneered at but is understandable: people over age 80 don’t spend as much as they did when they were younger. Extended tours to Europe don’t have the same allure. But evidently some economists expect older people to dissave – spending their accumulated wealth – at a great rate until they die.
As for the ambition to leave assets to children and grandchildren – the bequest motive is particularly strong among certain ethnic groups – the reforming economists have a response. Inheritances may increase income and wealth inequality and should be taxed.
This is a contestable opinion but that won’t stop the advocates of death duties.
If you look at average real incomes per person after taxes and transfers by age, the pattern is exactly as expected. Average incomes peak around age 50 and then fall to a trough at around age 75 and then level off. This has always been the pattern, with real incomes rising for all age groups over time.
Comparing 2019-23 with 2009-13, it looks as though the older age group has done well in real terms, but so have 50-year-olds. It’s not clear you want to read too much into the figures. There is obvious scope for manipulation with the dates chosen for the analysis; 2009-13 covered the period of the global financial crisis, for instance.
But according to the Australian National University’s Tax and Transfer Policy Institute director Bob Breunig, if you include unrealised capital gains, older generations now have similar average incomes to working-age Australians, which wasn’t the case in the past. But hang on a minute – you can’t eat unrealised capital gains and you can’t use them to pay the electricity bill.
What he is saying, in effect, is that many older people are sitting on large paper profits on their homes and this should be taken into account. They are not responsible for this, but they should be penalised, notwithstanding.

Then came another of those inexplicable, completely useless illustrative snaps, Older people hold all the wealth but they are not the problem in Australia’s economic crisis.

Perhaps it was the sight of the old biddy, helpfully tending her garden while vulgar youff idled away their time in night clubs, high on drugs as a preliminary to fornication, that set off the final epic groan ...

The fact they live in a precinct that provides social capital – helpful neighbours, local services – is regarded as irrelevant. Downsizing is costly – consider the large stamp duty bill – and there is often little suitable stock in the area. But older people must be taxed more because that is only “fair”.
When it comes to superannuation, most of the accumulated wealth is the result of the forced savings policies of successive governments and various rule changes designed to encourage people to contribute more to their accounts.
Having done so in good faith and according to the rules, older people now are being told they have too much in superannuation and it is not taxed enough. That there were taxes on contributions and earnings all the way through, adding to a very steep cumulative burden, is also ignored by the crusading economists.
Of course, it is a huge generalisation to think of all older Australians as wealthy leaners. There is a great deal of inequality among older people, especially those who are not lucky enough to own their homes. We also hear about homeless older women, but these stories will have be shoved to the back pages if the paradigm of the generational clash is really to take hold.
But here’s a word of warning to Chalmers, who no doubt thinks he’s on a winner here and that the three days of roundtable chat were well worth the trouble – taxes on savings or wealth are the easiest to avoid and the least likely to generate the revenue predicted. This is a sharp contrast with taxes on income and consumption, although sin taxes these days have a nasty habit of simply inducing illegal avoidance – think tobacco excise. People, particularly those with a lot of wealth, will simply rearrange their affairs. There are a lot of options, including the last resort of leaving the country. Transferring money to children, investing even more in owner-occupied housing, trusts and complicated company structures are all possibilities.
For the government, it becomes a game of whack-a-mole as it seeks to close off the loopholes.
Incidentally, if you dampen the incentives to accumulate assets because they will become highly taxed when you are older, there are negative consequences for the economy as the stock of capital to fund investment dries up.
There is no doubt that the first best strategy is to rein in government spending. It is astounding that the government seems incapable of returning expenditure to its pre-Covid average of about 24.5 per cent of GDP. That government spending is heading for 27 per cent of GDP, and in such a short time, tells you that Labor and responsible spending can’t be put in the same sentence.

Splendid stuff, and while it made the pond as usual, overlong, it was well worth it ...

There's nothing like intergenerational conflict and Dame Groan in full boomer fight mode ...

It might recall for some the pleasures of a youth wasted on comics, and as the reptiles have shown this morning, an excellent way to learn how to spell ...

UPDATE:

Everything is normal, our most secure and stable security partner, everything is normal, carry on regardless ...