Prime Minister Julia Gillard is set to unveil a bonus for one million families with school-aged children to replace the existing education tax refund.

Under the means-tested SchoolKids Bonus policy, to be announced on Sunday, parents will receive $820 a year for each teenager they have at high school, News Limited and Fairfax newspapers reported.

Families will get $410 for every child in primary school.

The direct cash payments are being introduced after more than 600,000 eligible families failed to claim $300 million in rebates.

The government will also issue back payments for the past financial year in a one-off bonus.

The payments are expected to cost the budget – which the government has vowed to return to surplus – an extra $2 billion over five years.

Labor, which is struggling in the polls, hopes to rush the legislation through parliament this week so it can make the first payments next month.

i wonder what that money will really be used for. its ok , everyone with a kid is very responsible, remember when the baby bonus was being used to buy the latest televisions for baby?

meanwhile our industry is crumbling………… this must be what happens when a country completely collapses.

Industry groups and unions are hoping the federal government will continue to support Australia’s struggling manufacturing industry, when it delivers its upcoming budget.

Local manufacturers have been doing it tough for some time amid a high Australian dollar, cautious household spending and tough global economic conditions.

In April, 350 jobs were cut from Toyota’s Altona carmaking plant in Melbourne, OneSteel announced it would sack 430 people in February and rival BlueScope shed 1000 workers in August last year.

Treasurer Wayne Swan is expected to announce big cuts to public spending in Tuesday night’s budget, in a bid to deliver a surplus.

But Australian Industry Group chief executive Innes Willox warns it may be the wrong time to withdraw large amounts of public funding, especially for trade-exposed industries like manufacturing.

“There are undeniable risks in such a sharp fiscal consolidation,” he said this week.

“Any risks will need to be carefully managed.”

Mr Willox said the high Australian dollar was the single major reason behind the weakness in the manufacturing sector.

This has caused a steep 10 per cent fall in manufacturing employment in the past four years.

He is calling for a range of measures to support the industry, such as lowering the company tax rate to 25 per cent, assistance with early stage financing and the removal of regulatory obstacles for investment.

The ACTU is urging the government to do more to stop further job losses in the sector.

Industries struggling with the high Australian dollar must be supported by the government on an ongoing basis, if they are to remain competitive, the union argues.

And a manufacturing base is crucial to Australia’s economic prosperity.

“The manufacturing industry is the fourth-largest sector in the Australian economy, employing 8.3 per cent of the workforce,” the ACTU said in a pre-budget submission.

“Manufacturing not only creates jobs and export earnings but contributes to Australia’s growing skills and technology base.”

But Peter Anderson, chief executive of the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, warns the government against giving handouts or subsidies to manufacturers in its budget.

Instead, he’d like to see tax reform, infrastructure investment and better targeted programs for skills.

The government should also scrap the carbon tax if it was serious about supporting the manufacturing industry, he said.

Problem is, the manufacturing industry must realise that to survive into the future that absorbing costs will be the reality unavoidable.

wookiemeister said:

Prime Minister Julia Gillard is set to unveil a bonus for one million families with school-aged children to replace the existing education tax refund.

Under the means-tested SchoolKids Bonus policy, to be announced on Sunday, parents will receive $820 a year for each teenager they have at high school, News Limited and Fairfax newspapers reported.

Families will get $410 for every child in primary school.

The direct cash payments are being introduced after more than 600,000 eligible families failed to claim $300 million in rebates.

The government will also issue back payments for the past financial year in a one-off bonus.

The payments are expected to cost the budget – which the government has vowed to return to surplus – an extra $2 billion over five years.

Labor, which is struggling in the polls, hopes to rush the legislation through parliament this week so it can make the first payments next month.

i wonder what that money will really be used for. its ok , everyone with a kid is very responsible, remember when the baby bonus was being used to buy the latest televisions for baby?

so? the baby bonus was meant to help you ‘set up for’ baby, but they didn’t actually award it until well after you had the baby. Most people have already bought their ‘set up ‘ stuff by that stage, so the money truly was a ‘bonus’. If they really wanted to help people set up a new baby they should have a. awarded it before the baby was born so it was useful or b. awarded vouchers for baby related stuff so they could control where the funds went..

does it matter what this money is going to? will it encourage people to spend, probably, but isn;t that the point?

Arts said:

does it matter what this money is going to? will it encourage people to spend, probably, but isn’t that the point?

Yes. This is exactly the point.

at any rate we are boned because people like the queensland treasury coprporation take loans from foreign institutions, lend them to various entities across queensland from power companies to councils.

the power prices are rising because the money from overseas will want interest on that loan

the QTC is simply a middle man that allows “foreign investment” and local sharks to feed off us – legally

australia is being mired in foreign debt its why power prices are climbing, everything seems to be broken and no one can fix the problem.

reduce the debt , reduce the problems.

So you haven’t noticed the ads on TV about getting Government assist to be debt free?

roughbarked said:

So you haven’t noticed the ads on TV about getting Government assist to be debt free?

both sides of parliament have boned this country because they have allowed the debts to rise

4 a government must always be in serious debt

looks like carbon tax is going to be used to expand the welfare state – just in time for the election.

class war

labor expands its voter base through expanded welfare and lots of people out of work and putting their hand out

this continues a collpase of the economy as the state runs out of funds – carbon tax is going to increase every year

more tax

more debt

no future

Ahhhh ….. quit your whinging.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-05-30/nsw-to-transform-schools-into-community-hubs/4040806

shaking more money into the dustbin