What do Thai Wives (& their husbands) think of losing their Australian Husbands for 2 years because of a new Centrelink law requirement being for him to live 2 years in Australia to collect his aged pension entitlement from the Australain government

[Happyman58]

3 minutes ago, Happyman58 said:

Ok i say this one more time When you get to 67 which is when i can have pension you can apply but you have to be in Australia to apply OK  Once you start getting your pension and decide to live overseas for more than 6 weeks they will start investigating you to check if have worked in Australia for the required time. etc etc After 26 weeks they will send you a letter stating this that this that blah blah blah and we will reduce your pension or take it off you OK

What they are saying if you have not worked in Australia for 35 years ( Steven you got no chance on 20 years old mate) If you applied you would have to live in Aus for 2 years Ok They are saying to you if you have not done the required time which is 35 years you cannot move overseas and live  until you have lived in Australia for 2 years.OK They are not that silly to say ok u must live in aus for 2 years to get old age pension before its due they know most 65 year olds coming back will go on the dole ok  This law is confusing everyone Its to stop people who have hardly worked in Aus get the old age pension and live overseas eg Greeks and Lebanese who were classics at it. Ok I will stress again and and you can believe me or not   My case i can apply for the old age pension at 67 in my case I will get it if i decided to live overseas after getting it they will investigate me to see if i did the required time which is 35 years working life I think guys the people who are telling you you must stay in Aus for 2 years are the people who have not worked for 35 years in Australia and there fore if they live overseas they will loose there pension after 26 weeks ok

You have a choice tell them you are moving overseas and they will investigate you or they will check departures and arrivals in Australia easy to do by checking with immigration and then they will send you a letter by the address you put on card when arriving in Australia But they will

find you be assured of that and maybe bit cranky that you did not tell them you were moving overseas

[giddyup]

15 minutes ago, Happyman58 said:

   My case i can apply for the old age pension at 67 in my case I will get it if i decided to live overseas after getting it they will investigate me to see if i did the required time which is 35 years working life I think guys the people who are telling you you must stay in Aus for 2 years are the people who have not worked for 35 years in Australia and there fore if they live overseas they will loose there pension after 26 weeks ok

You have to live in Australia for the 2 years prior to being eligible for the pension, or if you've been living overseas you have to return and spend 2 years in Australia before the pension becomes portable. If you returned at 65 you'd wait the 2 years get the pension and go where you liked. If you returned at 67 you'd get the pension immediately but you'd still have to spend 2 years living in Oz until you could take the pension overseas.

 

I believe 35 years is to qualify for a full pension, but 25 years and over will get you a part pension.

Edited March 5, 2018 by giddyup

[Will27]

53 minutes ago, steven100 said:

Now I get it .....  to qualify for the OAP ....  one has to go back and live in Australia for 2 years before even filling the form in ... then submit the application ... if approved then you can come back to Thailand.  ???

Now what if you working life has been out of Australia mostly and say you only worked 20 yrs there ....  would that mean one is not entitled to receive any OAP.   ???

I'm pretty sure you only have to be a resident for that (working life) period.

 

In other words, you can on the dole all of your life and still qualify for the pension.

So you should be ok.

[Will27]

1 hour ago, Laza 45 said:

...no not new.. has been around for years..  I have a friend who retired early and lived in north east Thailand got married  and built a guesthouse.. and discovered he had to go back for 2 years to get his pension..that happened quite a few years ago now...  another one is that you loose residence and your Medicare card after 5 years living outside OZ..  return for 2 years to get it back and have restricted travel after that... lol   

Once you have your portability, there are no travel restrictions.

[giddyup]

2 minutes ago, Will27 said:

I'm pretty sure you only have to be a resident for that (working life) period.

 

In other words, you can on the dole all of your life and still qualify for the pension.

So you should be ok.

That's correct. You have to have lived in Australia for a minimum of 25 years for part pension or 35 years for full pension. Working or not.

[steven100]

2 minutes ago, Will27 said:

I'm pretty sure you only have to be a resident for that (working life) period.

 

In other words, you can on the dole all of your life and still qualify for the pension.

So you should be ok.

and I think the same ....  if your an Aussie resident for all of your working life ... even though you were away working you still never gave up being an Australian resident ...

[Happyman58]

46 minutes ago, giddyup said:

You have to live in Australia for the 2 years prior to being eligible for the pension, or if you've been living overseas you have to return and spend 2 years in Australia before the pension becomes portable. If you returned at 65 you'd wait the 2 years get the pension and go where you liked. If you returned at 67 you'd get the pension immediately but you'd still have to spend 2 years living in Oz until you could take the pension overseas.

 

I believe 35 years is to qualify for a full pension, but 25 years and over will get you a part pension.

Spot on Giddy up That is why i going to check when i am back in Aus that i paid taxes fo 35 years. I think i am ok  But you know what Giddy what the sheila told me in centrelink You are 61 now why worry because they change the rules every year lol Only rules they dont change is for politicions They get everything no rules

[Happyman58]

53 minutes ago, giddyup said:

You have to live in Australia for the 2 years prior to being eligible for the pension, or if you've been living overseas you have to return and spend 2 years in Australia before the pension becomes portable. If you returned at 65 you'd wait the 2 years get the pension and go where you liked. If you returned at 67 you'd get the pension immediately but you'd still have to spend 2 years living in Oz until you could take the pension overseas.

 

I believe 35 years is to qualify for a full pension, but 25 years and over will get you a part pension.

I tell you what Giddy the government should hold there head in shame when pensioners have to live overseas because they cant afford to live in there own country

[giddyup]

2 minutes ago, Happyman58 said:

I tell you what Giddy the government should hold there head in shame when pensioners have to live overseas because they cant afford to live in there own country

It depends. If you own your own house in Oz I think you can manage OK, not a lavish lifestyle but you get by. If you have to pay rent out of your pension then it becomes a bit of a struggle.

[gk10002000]

22 hours ago, tifino said:

ummm, hiding it will be bad if it ever comes out later... criminal-wise

 

secrets never stay secret forever, as eventually, secrets talk...

 

even in AUS, going from a Single, to a one-pensioner-within-a-Couple; will lose you much more than 200/Fn - assuming one one was already on the Full Rate

 

When caught, there are no Statute of Limitation, as to how far back that they can go in your past, to re-coop their $$$

 

The best way to keep CL from chasing you, is for you to be in their face, to barrage them with all those masses of relevant info, before they come to you for it 

 

Keep all your 'Income and Assets' Reporting up to date, even Weekly... Flood them with it

 

About that 6 weeks thing... only the Supplements fall off.

The OAP itself does not cease(although a DSP willCease after 13 weeks abroad over a rolling 12mths period)

 

In paprallel to the OP about OAP:

If you are Ex-ADF, and on a DVA White/Gold Card pension; it also gets cut from a Singles, to a One-in-a-Couples rate too.

If you don't keep them up to date with correct info, you could stuff yourself, for life not just the era after 60...

 

I would caution the secrets thing too.  I am an American and don't have any pension issues.  My passive income is stocks and bonds and dividends and interest.  At the moment, there are few if any issues I will have about collecting my social security in a year or so, except for some policies and procedures on how and where to apply for benefits and where they have to be sent.  But doing anything that might be considered committing fraud or that might open up an investigation or query, probably should be very carefully evaluated

[giddyup]

6 minutes ago, gk10002000 said:

I would caution the secrets thing too.  I am an American and don't have any pension issues.  My passive income is stocks and bonds and dividends and interest.  At the moment, there are few if any issues I will have about collecting my social security in a year or so, except for some policies and procedures on how and where to apply for benefits and where they have to be sent.  But doing anything that might be considered committing fraud or that might open up an investigation or query, probably should be very carefully evaluated

This topic is dealing with Australian pensions and qualifying for them.

[gk10002000]

3 minutes ago, giddyup said:

This topic is dealing with Australian pensions and qualifying for them.

  Uh huh.  I am suggesting that the "word arounds", lies, and other things that might be considered as committing fraud should be carefully considered.  qualifying for government benefits is not just an OZ issue.  Similar issues are popping up in other countries

[Nemises]

The OP asked in post #1 what his Thai wife is supposed to do in the 2 years that he is away. Just wondering if he knows yet?

[Happyman58]

27 minutes ago, gk10002000 said:

I would caution the secrets thing too.  I am an American and don't have any pension issues.  My passive income is stocks and bonds and dividends and interest.  At the moment, there are few if any issues I will have about collecting my social security in a year or so, except for some policies and procedures on how and where to apply for benefits and where they have to be sent.  But doing anything that might be considered committing fraud or that might open up an investigation or query, probably should be very carefully evaluated

Centre link employees are like fleas. Once they get on   your back they are hard to get rid of

[digger70]

19 hours ago, giddyup said:

I only found out about it 2 years ago when I was going to get married. Not the kind of info that would matter unless you intended getting married. I believe I would lose money from my single pension. You don't get more for being married, but less.

Depending on ones means test one is eligible for a full basic single  persons  Age pension when one marries a thai Lady of under Retirement age.

[giddyup]

1 minute ago, digger70 said:

Depending on ones means test one is eligible for a full basic single  persons  Age pension when one marries a thai Lady of under Retirement age.

Fact: You lose money if you marry. Unless you keep it a secret from Centrelink. If they find out they make you  pay everything back. Too many posts on this subject on the Home Country Forum.

[digger70]

5 minutes ago, giddyup said:

Fact: You lose money if you marry. Unless you keep it a secret from Centrelink. If they find out they make you  pay everything back. Too many posts on this subject on the Home Country Forum.

Sorry ,Yes you are right,,, that's why some Aussies Don't get married in Thailand .

[giddyup]

5 minutes ago, digger70 said:

Sorry ,Yes you are right,,, that's why some Aussies Don't get married in Thailand .

That's why I didn't. Not going to let those C'link a-holes take money from me, not when I see how generous they are to other new arrivals.

[digger70]

1 minute ago, giddyup said:

That's why I didn't. Not going to let those C'link a-holes take money from me, not when I see how generous they are to other new arrivals.

That makes Two of us 

[Laza 45]

5 hours ago, Will27 said:

Once you have your portability, there are no travel restrictions.

...Please, can you explain about 'portability'?   This affects me..

[Laza 45]

6 hours ago, steven100 said:

Now what if you working life has been out of Australia mostly and say you only worked 20 yrs there ....  would that mean one is not entitled to receive any OAP.   ???

I don't think so..  if you had worked 20 years you would pass working requirements.. no problem..  the level of pension depends on your length of residency.. I can't remember exactly how the formula worked but I arrived in 1972 and 7 years ago I had more than enough for a full pension.. 

[Will27]

18 minutes ago, Laza 45 said:

...Please, can you explain about 'portability'?   This affects me..

Unless you've been overseas and have to come back and qualify (2 years)for the pension, you can pretty

much live where you want to once it's been granted.

 

So, if you've been living in Oz and you apply and get the pension granted, I'm pretty sure that's it.

Others more knowledgeable about the OAP than me can add more. 

[Laza 45]

1 minute ago, Will27 said:

Unless you've been overseas and have to come back and qualify (2 years)for the pension, you can pretty

much live where you want to once it's been granted.

 

So, if you've been living in Oz and you apply and get the pension granted, I'm pretty sure that's it.

Others more knowledgeable about the OAP than me can add more. 

I get that bit.. I've been living in Thailand for most of the last 11 years.. no problem with the pension.. but I lost Medicare.. and seems only way I could get it back is to return and live in OZ for 2 years and have restrictions on future travel..  

[Happyman58]

19 minutes ago, Will27 said:

Unless you've been overseas and have to come back and qualify (2 years)for the pension, you can pretty

much live where you want to once it's been granted.

 

So, if you've been living in Oz and you apply and get the pension granted, I'm pretty sure that's it.

Others more knowledgeable about the OAP than me can add more. 

Ok They will give you your pension if you are entitled to it If you decide to live overseas it is best to tell them that are your plans because they will find out. If you have not worked and lived in Australia for 35 years then they will reduce your pension if you still decide to live overseas unless you stay in Australia for 2 years and then you can live wherever you want with no reduction ok  If you go for more than 6 weeks a year they will look to reduce your pension if you have worked less than 35 years in Australia unless you are prepared to stay for 2 years This was brought about many people abusing the pension by getting the pension and going back to live overseas after only working a short for a short time in aus 

[marquis22]

On 04/03/2018 at 10:12 AM, giddyup said:

I went as far as getting the letter from the embassy, proof of divorce for previous marriage, translations etc, cost me more that 10,000 baht before I was advised that I could lose some of my OAP. Needless to say my partner was a little disappointed, but she's got over it.

Yep, did all the same things, then realised, so just had the "village marriage". 

 

[totally thaied up]

6 hours ago, Laza 45 said:

...Please, can you explain about 'portability'?   This affects me..

There are two types of portability. Applying for portability under disability. It is as rare as hen's teeth and given to those, that have no hope of recovery due to serious illness and are stable. Then you have OAP portability. After the pension age is reached and if you have done the right thing (35 years in the country during your lifetime and two years in the country before you turn 65 or 67). You can pack up your bags the day you get your pension, wiz off overseas. In this case, your pension is portable now. Nothing is stopping you at all. You will lose some supplements later, but that is it. Just return home once every five years to keep Medicare current. It is pretty simple.

[Groove]

Wow, I've just been away for 2 days, doing a Visa run so thanks for so many replies to my post (I didn't have to do visa runs for 3 years until about 4 years ago, because I had the 400k THB security deposit in my Thai bank account, yes I took my Thai girlfriend with me in early 2010 just before we got married, but I had to spend the money because my Mum died just over 5 years ago & I went to see her before she died, then I had a heart attack. (aged 56 in Sep 2012, 1 month before my 57th birthday) I had spent most of my working life in Australia until I retired in Thailand, aged 50 with my Australian wife. (I can’t afford to live in Australia now anyway) She didn't like Thailand & pissed off. She wanted a divorce, so a couple years later we got divorced and sold our Aussie house & 40 acres) I picked up the divorce papers in the post when I went back to Oz in 2010. I had been going with my Thai girlfriend a year before divorcing & later had the heart attack and went back to Australia again in Dec 2015, on my own, to spend 2 x 1 week long visits in hospital, because after the lack of good Aussie medication I almost died, (apparently only 2 out of 3 survive a heart attack anyway, so I’m already lucky) I used to think of Australia as “The lucky country & loved it there, (but I let my Aussie wife talk me into going to Thailand when I was 50) I brought my 2^nd wife over to Australia in 2016 who is Thai & hopefully I’ll die with her (if Australia let’s me), (marriage used to be a cherished existence, but now it’s discriminated against) I only applied for  a 3 months visa for her because I knew that’s all she’d get, I came back to Thailand about a year & half ago, she’s only 6 years younger than me & looks after me well (I’d be alone & in & out of hospital constantly in Australia), so thanks Gregster, Happyman Giddyup & all (I love all the old native Australians, they/you are a good crew. I am going to phone Centrelink when I've got a decent phone service (because I am in the sticks here in Thailand & dtac & Skype are shocking) and discuss this. Happyman says that one can wait until the day before OAP age (mine is 66&half years) because the 2 years in Oz, according to happyman, has to be spent after receiving the OAP. I'm a muso living in the sticks so I didn't know this law wasn't new & have had a sex, drugs & Rock n' Roll life (who hasn’t who was born in the 50s?), so if I die before 66&half I go up in smoke like everyone else here, then so be it. I couldn't handle leaving Oz at 68&half anyway, so why risk being controlled again & die happy here? I DO THINK THE AUSTRALIAN GOV ARE ABSOLUTE CONTROL FREAKS ANYWAY, shit one can't even afford a smoke in Oz now, so thanks guys 

[Groove]

I put the intial post titled:

What do Thai Wives (& their husbands) think of losing their Australian Husbands for 2 years because of a new Centrelink law requirement being for him to live 2 years in Australia to collect his aged pension entitlement from the Australain government

 

And then followed up with in the "Home Country" Australia column withis post:

I have been thinking about this thing of doing 2 more years serval penitude in Australia & as one 61 year old here said “It’s not the country he knows anymore”, and I agree. As I said, I was back there in 2016 (the year I turned 61) and absolutely hated it. Australia is now a dangerous place full of angry young people. Full of kids breaking the road rules and driving crazy & especially riding bigger bikes in a very angry, aggressive way with full blown noise. Guys throwing “Coward Punches”. No I didn’t tell them when I left, like a little child having to report to school, no I couldn’t wait to get out of the place & get back here to paradise, and yes, as someone else was saying that “The Australian government need to hold their heads in shame when Australians need to live overseas because they can’t afford to live in Australia anymore ”because Australia & Australian citizenship was only granted in 1949 from mother England in exchange for Australia agreeing to look after its people by setting up the Commonwealth Employment Service & Social Security Service. Yes, they used to find one a job, years ago, & one would only spend maybe a couple of weeks in a lifetime getting bailed out by them with a cheque that you could cash anywhere if needed. You were found a job soon and had to take it, or, rightfully their cheques were stopped. This thing of pushing people around into 2 years servitude should really cost the coalition the next election because I think they are verging on reneging of their commonwealth agreement to look after us, its people. I reckon there was too little notice in raising the pension age from 65 to 67. Here, Thais retire at 60 on 500THB per month. Is Australia heading towards treating their own people the same as the Thais, because yes, while I’m away 2 years, 500THB per months is all she’ll be getting, unless I smuggle money back to her. This is an absolute disgrace Australia. You have to do better than that while you lot are all snorting at the trough. 

So all I have to say here is: The main issue with most of us is this 2 years thing (my initial entry into Australia, of Irish parents, from England in the mid 70s,) but I more than paid Australia back by working my guts out for Australia as a tradesman in (Carpets mostly, with some linoleum, tiles etc) being jobs that most Aussies didn't want to do and I became naturalised during this time. I even had to go on a disability pension for a while as I had worked so hard for Australia that I totally stuffed my back) I later came to Thailand & met my Thai partner in 2010 so there's a good 35 years there of working 6 days a week as a constantly-in-demand flooring installer tradesman in the construction & soft furnishings industry doing domestic dwellings & commercial projects such as Gold Coast high rise etc, so yes, I've been here in Thailand since meeting my partner & always thought I'd retire on an Australian OAP living with my partner here at age 65. Losing a year & a half's money was bad enough through having to wait until 66 & half, but a 2 years of stay in Oz stint really stinks. Nothing against Australia but one can't afford to live even half decent there anymore. Can't these B's just leave us alone while their protecting their rich mates?

 

 

[Happyman58]

3 minutes ago, Groove said:

I put the intial post titled:

 

What do Thai Wives (& their husbands) think of losing their Australian Husbands for 2 years because of a new Centrelink law requirement being for him to live 2 years in Australia to collect his aged pension entitlement from the Australain government

 

 

 

And then followed up with in the "Home Country" Australia column withis post:

 

I have been thinking about this thing of doing 2 more years serval penitude in Australia & as one 61 year old here said “It’s not the country he knows anymore”, and I agree. As I said, I was back there in 2016 (the year I turned 61) and absolutely hated it. Australia is now a dangerous place full of angry young people. Full of kids breaking the road rules and driving crazy & especially riding bigger bikes in a very angry, aggressive way with full blown noise. Guys throwing “Coward Punches”. No I didn’t tell them when I left, like a little child having to report to school, no I couldn’t wait to get out of the place & get back here to paradise, and yes, as someone else was saying that “The Australian government need to hold their heads in shame when Australians need to live overseas because they can’t afford to live in Australia anymore ”because Australia & Australian citizenship was only granted in 1949 from mother England in exchange for Australia agreeing to look after its people by setting up the Commonwealth Employment Service & Social Security Service. Yes, they used to find one a job, years ago, & one would only spend maybe a couple of weeks in a lifetime getting bailed out by them with a cheque that you could cash anywhere if needed. You were found a job soon and had to take it, or, rightfully their cheques were stopped. This thing of pushing people around into 2 years servitude should really cost the coalition the next election because I think they are verging on reneging of their commonwealth agreement to look after us, its people. I reckon there was too little notice in raising the pension age from 65 to 67. Here, Thais retire at 60 on 500THB per month. Is Australia heading towards treating their own people the same as the Thais, because yes, while I’m away 2 years, 500THB per months is all she’ll be getting, unless I smuggle money back to her. This is an absolute disgrace Australia. You have to do better than that while you lot are all snorting at the trough. 

 

So all I have to say here is: The main issue with most of us is this 2 years thing (my initial entry into Australia, of Irish parents, from England in the mid 70s,) but I more than paid Australia back by working my guts out for Australia as a tradesman in (Carpets mostly, with some linoleum, tiles etc) being jobs that most Aussies didn't want to do and I became naturalised during this time. I even had to go on a disability pension for a while as I had worked so hard for Australia that I totally stuffed my back) I later came to Thailand & met my Thai partner in 2010 so there's a good 35 years there of working 6 days a week as a constantly-in-demand flooring installer tradesman in the construction & soft furnishings industry doing domestic dwellings & commercial projects such as Gold Coast high rise etc, so yes, I've been here in Thailand since meeting my partner & always thought I'd retire on an Australian OAP living with my partner here at age 65. Losing a year & a half's money was bad enough through having to wait until 66 & half, but a 2 years of stay in Oz stint really stinks. Nothing against Australia but one can't afford to live even half decent there anymore. Can't these B's just leave us alone while their protecting their rich mates?

 

 

 

 

Mate well said One time the old age pension was given because if you worked your guts out paid your taxes and they were happy to give you a pension Now they act like they are doing you a favor by giving you a pension. Why do they pick on pensioners? They are easy meat not hard to beat. You think common sense would prevail here and they would say " ok you guys who have paid taxes for 35 years here is your pension thanks from Australia " Not these over paid pigs called politicons we have. There expense account would be bigger than a pension a worker receives in a lifetime. There retirement age is 60 with full benefits. But word of warning if Labor gets in they wont change the rules. They were the ones who started this crap to save money. Libs just carried on and went further. When you see the wastage from government such as trips overseas, Fantastic super, great pay and u dont even have to work 5 days per week or 6 months a year,  Generous acc subsidy, Comm car provided. elect allowance it just goes on and on . And the big secret they dont talk about is back bencher pay is 201,000 grand per year but they have that little sneaky. You get on to committees and you get lots more. Committees that talk about nothing that dont matter the extra money is great. Any pollie who has the guts and stands up for age pensioners will get my vote I dont care if they belong to the Nazi party as long as they help get a better deal

[Groove]

When one retires, one would like to live in a decent area eh? The horrors of trying to exist for a Queenslander were already outlined here, so somewhere nice being the Sunshine Coast would be ideal eh? Does one realise that it costs around $200AUD per week just to rent a room in a shared house on the Sunshine Coast? Around $200AUD per week that’s what and the owner even has the right to discriminate against Social Welfare recipients and, according to or seeming to the Federal government, that is quite an acceptable practice of the owner to be able to shut the door to good old Aussie battler pensioners. The current OAP pension rate, before it changes on 20^th Mar 2018, is A$814 per fortnight + supplement of A$66.30 + energy supplement of 14.10 totaling A$894.40 + a possible maximum rental assistance of A$133 per fortnight = A$1,027.40 per fortnight or A$2,054.80 per 4 weeks. I say per 4 weeks because if granted a portability pension outside of Australia? They pay 13 x 4 weekly installments from a yearly rate of A$21,764.60 divided by 13 = A$1,674.20 per 4 weekly payment. They pay direct deposit into your bank in your country, so in this case I still haven’t investigated if they have an agreement with Thailand? (Some say there is no agreement with Thailand) If agreed, today’s rate before 20^th Mar would be paid in the local currency here, i.e. into a Thai bank account in Thai Baht. In other words, they want to see where the money’s going & you can bet they’ll asking your bank all sorts of questions like your previous & current banking activity, in other words are you getting any other money from elsewhere? So by leaving Oz, and IF granted a portability pension you’ll be losing around A$190 per fortnight for being outside of Australia, and as people have said A$200 per fortnight if you’ve got a wife. Is it worth being in Thailand & is it worth marrying? Or do they have the right to break up say a 10 or 12 years marriage because the man worked most of his life in Australia. Spent his money in Australia because he succumbed to most of life’s temptations and spent his money on things including gambling, which is highly pushed and respected now. I reckon that the day his or her pension starts, they could have lived wherever until that day, yes, the would be pensioner should have been able to live wherever he likes & with or who-ever he/she likes, whether this be to a girl whose family sometimes do not know where their money for the next meal is coming from? Or she makes the average rural worker’s wage of sometimes as low as 3,000THB per month. If someone has lived & worked in Australia for at least 25 years of their life and are overseas, thereby saving Australia welfare dole payments, then they should be able to return to Australia the day before coming of OAP pension age & get it started on the day they turn of that age & pack their bags & go without having to had spent the last 2 years, divorced & in Australia because the Australian government says so. This is the tip of the iceberg that’s going to end your political career Malcolm Turnbull. Let’s lobby everyone and make him return the retirement age to 65 years with no 2 years in Australia waiting list, OTHERWISE HE IS GONE AT THE NEXT ELECTION. He’s already ruled out an early one, so he now cannot renege on that election promise. He’d look a fool if he called an early one now. No, there’s plenty of time before next year to make him commit towards that end otherwise he’s gone, history. Just one more dead political statistic who thinks more of spending billions on 75 new F35 US fighter jets and the corporate welfare bill on bonuses they hand to big business to win contracts are double of the entire Social welfare bill he pays, and not from his money, from ours, the people’s money that the Australian government have control of. People 65 & over are a large percentage of Australia’s population. Don’t underestimate them, they, we, can make history of this current government! I’ll certainly be going to the Oz embassy in Bangkok to vote, that’s for sure and at this current behavior there’s no way I’ll vote for him.