If you’re not in an industry super fund, you have rocks in your head.

Not only are the industry funds outperforming the private sector funds, the fee structure is much lower, making them and even far more attractive alternative. So why would anybody invest in the super fund run by a bank?

Because they got talked into it by a financial advisor (who may also have had a financial interest because of commissions paid by the bank)?

Probably.   The professional ranking of financial advisors is probably now alongside used car salesman and politicians in terms of trustworthiness.

The Age reports: The one-million member Hostplus industry fund has produced the best return of all “MySuper” balanced investment options for the last financial year, of 12.5 per cent.

Figures released by SuperRatings on Thursday show all of the top-20 performers for the year are not-for-profit funds – either industry funds, public sector funds or corporate funds.

Here is the list of the top 10 performing funds

The fund  that  is the default fund for academics and where I have some of my super, Unisuper, is ranked number one over 10 years in the SuperRatings rankings, with an average annual compound return of 7.6 per cent.

 

 

Why does the responsible press in Australia provide oxygen for Peter Dutton?

Victoria is a “parallel universe” in a “fairyland” about gang violence, says Immigration Minister Peter Dutton as he hit back at accusations that he has been inciting racism.

Dutton also praised the work of Victorian Liberal MP Mr Wood has called for victims of crime perpetrated by foreign nationals to have more of a say in the legal process if an assailant fights deportation attempts prosecuted against them.

Victorian Human Rights Commissioner Kristen Hilton has since revealed formal complaints have soared more than 70 per cent in the past year, with the spike being attributed largely to politicians, particularly Mr Dutton.

“The [Victorian Human Rights] commission believes that Canberra’s inflammatory statements on race and crime – the so-called #AfricanGangs crisis – have caused real harm in Victoria. And we are calling for better federal leadership this election year,” she wrote.

Comments by Dutton and Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull have done nothing to help the problems facing the Sudanese community in Victoria and indeed the Victorian community as a whole.

They may think that this boosts their electoral  prospects and those of Property developer / Opposition leader, Matthew Guy.

We need to lift the level of political debate if we are going to have a serious discussion about the social and economic problems that face Victoria.

Peter Dutton is doing nothing to contribute to the level of this debate, in fact he is making it almost impossible for the Sudanese community to integrate into the wider Victorian community.

And he should be ashamed of himself.

 

 

 

With nothing better to do with his time, Malcolm Turnbull takes to race baiting.

The Age reports: Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has declared there is a “real concern about Sudanese gangs” in Melbourne, as he described how colleagues have backed claims that residents are scared to go out to dinner due to street crime.

Okay Malcolm, name names, who are these colleagues? Do they live in Melbourne? Do they live in areas where there are high levels of Sudanese immigrants?  Do they even go out to dinner?  – in places like Richmond, where I live, which has a high concentration of South Sudanese migrants and we went out for dinner twice last week. (not frightened)

You betcha not.

Responding to research by Victoria’s Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission – which linked a spike in racist incidents to the federal government’s language around race and crime –

Mr Turnbull said the connection was “nonsense”.

Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commissioner Kristen Hilton said “The Commission believes that Canberra’s inflammatory statements on race and crime – the so-called #AfricanGangs crisis – have caused real harm in Victoria. And we are calling for better federal leadership this election year,”

The response from grassroots Sudanese organisations in Victoria was predictable and filled with disappointment.’

The Federation of South Sudanese Associations in Victoria founder and chairman Kenyatta Wal said members of his community felt “isolated” by the PM’s comments.

“They feel they are being pushed away and not being recognised in spite of their contributions to this country … “People look at us suspiciously. We are trying to assure people that it is okay… but it is hard on many South Sudanese people.”

Ahmed Hassan, founder of outreach group Youth Activating Youth, said he was disheartened at Mr Turnbull’s comments.

”

“It is a shame to see the highest levels of government using any community as political football but in particular the South Sudanese who have been at the receiving end of some bad politics,” he said.

“We as a community, as young people, expect better from our Prime Minister.”

At a press conference in Tasmania on Tuesday morning, Liberal frontbencher Christopher Pyne appeared confused when asked by Fairfax Media whether he felt safe going to restaurants in Melbourne.

“No, why? Should I be?” Mr Pyne said. He said none of his Victorian colleagues had told him they were afraid to go to dinner, but “if the Prime Minister has said that they said that to him I’m sure it’s true”.

We really must ask, “Has Malcolm Turnbull got nothing better to do with time than interfere in Victorian social issues?”

He does nothing to enhance the credibility of the office of Prime Minister and he does little to help deal with the real problems that face the South Sudanese community.

Should the Confessional be exempt mandatory reporting of child sex abuse?

Well, to start with no one else is, so why should Catholic Priests be any different?

A brief disclaimer: I’m an atheist. So I don’t go along with the idea of God, and certainly not of a direct relationship between the confessional where the priest is an intermediary between the penitent and God.

In the Roman Catholic Church, the Seal of Confession (or Seal of the Confessional) is the absolute duty of priests not to disclose anything that they learn from penitents during the course of the Sacrament of Penance (confession). (Wiki)

Despite all the appalling evidence about the Catholic Church’s treatment of children and the protection of its priests, Sydney Archbishop Anthony Fisher and Melbourne Archbishop Denis Hart both maintained they would not report evidence of child sexual abuse if they heard it in the confessional.

SMH reports that child-sex-offender priest was Denis McAlinden sexually assaulted young girls in the confessional. When Denis McAlinden died, the Catholic Church, despite being aware of what he had done, had taken no action against him. Let alone reported him to the police.

The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse released its Criminal Justice Report.

One of its 85 recommendations was that clergy should not be able to refuse to report child sex allegations because the information was received during confession.

The  words used by the commission – “there be no exemption, excuse, protection or privilege” granted to clergy when it comes to their obligations to protect children.

There is a very simple principle that applies here.

It is that the law of the secular state applies to everybody: to individual citizens, to corporations and to religious groups and organisations.

Most particularly, it should apply to religious institutions. Particularly in the light of the role of the Catholic Church and its hierarchy played in protecting paedophiles.

No one can place themselves above the law. It is this fundamental understanding that binds together our civil society.

We all expect that the law will be applied to us and to everybody else without fear or favour.

So it really is time now for the Roman Catholic Church to have a good hard look at the idea of the Seal of the Confessional.

Supporting an unsupportable dogma, is too high a price to pay for untold years of child abuse.

If the Catholic Church is serious about coming to terms with its role in years of child abuse, then it needs to address this problem.

And it needs to address it without taking refuge behind dogma and the privilege of years of religious observation.

 

 

 

Scandal-ridden US Environment Protection Head Scott Pruitt resigns

In appointing Pruitt to the EPA, Trumps brief was explicit: wind back all the Obama administration legislation and destroy the EPA. Pruitt it has been extremely successful. It will take years to undo the damage he has done.

But on the way, he was extremely indiscreet in his own spending on his own office and his own personal expenses and also in his attempts to secure employment for his wife including endeavouring to obtained franchisee in a fast food chicken outlet for her.

Pruitt is now the subject of roughly a dozen federal investigations because of alleged ethical lapses.

Apparently, he even required his security detail to use their own personal credit cards to pay his hotel bills. That really redefines scumbaggery.

But now he’s become such an embarrassment to Trump that he’s resigned. Not anyone holds out hope that his replacement is likely to be much better.

But turning the spotlight on this particularly odious individual does highlight the attitude of the Trump administration to the role of the individual in government.

Public money is there to be used for the personal benefit of the public official, Not necessarily for the public good.

So Pruitt always flew first class. Apparently flying with the plebs exposed him to public anger and it would never do for public officials to have to face the wrath of people affected by the policies they are instituting so it was first class everywhere for Scott. In fact, it was a special compartment in first class, in case some of the first class passengers took a swipe at him.

He also made trips home over the weekend (also first class) much as his boss makes trips to his luxury golf course every couple of weeks. Are

No one questions this is excess any longer. The American public has become used to it.

It’s simply the way the new “political elite” acts. Pruitt is just an example of someone who was so appalling that even Trump had to draw a line.

 

My credit card account has been has been hacked. Does anyone care?

Last night I was doing my Internet banking and I noticed that my new ANZ Rewards Travel Adventures credit card which had not been used since 14 June in Gatwick had suddenly become active from the 3rd to 5th July in Victoria.

I still had the card so they were online transactions Myer, Harvey Norman, Officeworks, K Mart, Target, Little Smiles. A total of just over $2500.

Either someone is setting up home or selling into that market. The second is much more likely

The ANZ people have blocked my credit card but is someone going to follow up with the retailers and see where the goods are being delivered. And see if this is a widespread scam?

For $2500? I doubt it.

But there’s probably a warehouse somewhere full of stolen goods being sold on the black market and despite the fact that I’m not paying the $2500, (Thank you ANZ) in the long run I am and so is every other credit card holder in Australia.

But if I have not picked this up in three days but had waited until the end of the month, it would have totalled $25,000. Multiply that by any number of credit cards are the been hacked and suddenly talking big bickies.

And we can probably safely assume that a first-time buyer is not hacking the ANZ banking system to furnish a home, so this is probably going on on a larger scale.

And the people in the Philippines call center don’t appear to be particularly well co-ordinated. If at all. Good at blocking the credit card and establishing my identity. Full marks of that.

But once the credit card is blocked, that’s probably all that happens. Certainly I wasn’t told ” We will notify your local branch and they will ensure that the police are informed.”

The hackers have probably already moved on.

I hope there are alarm bells ringing in the ANZ this morning.

My credit card has been hacked. Does anyone care?

Last night I was doing my Internet banking and I noticed that my new ANZ Rewards Travel Adventures credit card which had not been used since 14 June in Gatwick had suddenly become active from the 3rd to 5th July in Victoria.

I still had the card so they were online transactions Myer, Harvey Norman, Officeworks, K Mart, Target, Little Smiles. A total of just over $2500.

Either someone is setting up home or selling into that market. The second is much more likely

The ANZ people have blocked my credit card but is someone going to follow up with the retailers and see where the goods are being delivered. And see if this is a widespread scam?

For $2500? I doubt it.

But there’s probably a warehouse somewhere full of stolen goods being sold on the black market and despite the fact that I’m not paying the $2500, (Thank you ANZ) in the long run I am and so is every other credit card holder in Australia.

But if I have not picked this up in three days but had waited until the end of the month, it would have totalled $25,000. Multiply that by any number of credit cards are the been hacked and suddenly talking big bickies.

And we can probably safely assume that a first-time buyer is not hacking the ANZ banking system to furnish a home, so this is probably going on on a larger scale.

And the people in the Philippines call center don’t appear to be particularly well co-ordinated. If at all. Good at blocking the credit card and establishing my identity. Full marks of that.

But once the credit card is blocked, that’s probably all that happens. Certainly I wasn’t told ” We will notify your local branch and they will ensure that the police are informed.”

The hackers have probably already moved on.

I hope there are alarm bells ringing in the ANZ this morning.