Commenting on the story: Anger as gamblers get green light to use notes in pokies

THIS decision to allow notes to be used in poker machines must be one of the most ridiculous, ill-thought-out actions by any government, of any persuasion, in SA’s history.

Never mind what those who run the casino, clubs and hotels want. They are irrelevant. Limiting the amount of money people will be able to withdraw from the oh-so-conveniently placed ATMs is not just stupid, it is pointless. People will simply go to the nearest bank and draw out what they want before they go to the venue.

Limiting the maximum note value will also be pointless. Be it $20, $50 or $100, it will all go in and the punter will, in the vast majority of cases, walk away with nothing, and probably will have squandered the entire week’s or fortnight’s income in just a few minutes. Then watch how they complain, how they get into ever-deepening debt when they borrow against their next pay packet and are hit with massive interest rates.

For the SA Government, this is just another way of surreptitiously raising revenue to pay for its excesses. The more money people pour into those pokies, the bigger the Government’s take.

Banning problem gamblers permanently? Just how are they going to police that? People don’t have to produce ID when they go to these venues. The venues won’t care who uses their machines, just as long as they use them. What is to stop some poor blighter with a problem going to an area where she/he is unknown? Nothing. Another stupid idea from an increasingly stupid SA Government.

The SA Liberal Government, just like its ALP predecessor, is totally out of touch with reality.

The big problem is that, unless the voters wake up and in 2022 elect enough minor party members to form government, we will be cursed with the same stupidity and ineptitude we will have endured for the last 20 years and SA will remain the laughing stock of Australia. – Robert McCormick

Commenting on the story: Land tax payers worse off under new changes, Lucas concedes

GET over it, the additional GST was never ours in the first place. It was money stolen from the people of WA.

The Liberal Government in South Australia is biting the hand of some of its most popular supporters and campaign contributors. This, in combination with the renters who will be affected by their landlords’ attempts to recoup at least part of their land tax increases, spells doom at the next election for our fledgling Liberal Government.

It’s time for Premier Marshall to shake the public service sector and seek savings in the public service budget before attempting to squeeze South Australian taxpayers for his necessary funding.

I believe Peter Malinauskas and the Labor Party dodged a bullet, by losing the last election. – Mike Lesiw 

I’M NOT sure how the Treasurer says 92 per cent of people will be better off [as a result of the land tax changes].

On an election platform of lowering land tax and stopping the brain drain and ensuring SA is more competitive, I would have thought that a strategy of incentivising would be a more sustainable way of increasing our tax revenue.

SA needs to be more competitive than the other states in order to attract sustainable tax-paying businesses and individuals.

Imposing a double whammy in the way of valuations and land tax can only have the effect of such additional charges eventually filtering through to the rest of the community in the way of higher costs and charges for all goods, services and accommodation, with a lot of pain in the interim. Therefore directly or indirectly, we will all pay, not just 8 per cent of us! That’s not to mention what it does to long-term investment confidence.

The Government should concentrate on providing business an environment in which to flourish and not one in which we are continuously penalised.

I will be sorry to see the Liberal Government last only one term. – John Galluccio

LET’S see if I have understood the Treasurer’s rationale for the land tax reform, aside from the” loophole” argument.

GST is paid by everyone transacting in South Australia. The reduced GST is occurring because the value of transactions paid by everyone in South Australia has reduced. The proposed land tax regime is meant to increase the state revenue, to cover for the reduced GST intake.

But the burden of recovery to cover for the lost revenue provided by GST, paid by everyone, is to be shifted onto a select few – ie those who own property – as if to say, “Well, the property owners can afford to shoulder this burden on behalf the everyone who is no longer voluntarily transacting as much.”

Like if all drivers never broke the traffic and road laws and less revenue from traffic and road fines came in, the Treasurer would then increase the land tax to meet the traffic fines shortfall. Good thinking, 99. You can depend on savers and investors in land. – Sam Christodoulou

Commenting on the story: Renewal SA tight-lipped over date for North Tce tree destruction

WHILST the Prime Minister is in the USA denying our poor climate change record, despite opening a new coal mine in Queensland, we have the City Council of Adelaide approving the demolition of 100-year-old trees. When is all this BS going to stop? – Ross Millard

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