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Becontree Boy

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Posts posted by Becontree Boy

  1. 2 hours ago, ramot said:

     

    Yes, none of this happens unless Labour wins the election.  We have a manifesto commitment by Labour to apply the upgrades to all UK state pensions internationally.  I am a member of the international branch of the British Labour Party with 3,000 members worldwide who are watching this matter closely.  I have every confidence that a Corbyn led Labour government will see this matter through.  

    • Haha 1
  2. 2 hours ago, ramot said:

     

     

    35 minutes ago, ramot said:

    Oh no we won’t  we won’t be told how to vote. we will vote as we see fit and don’t need any ‘I know better than you’ telling others what to do.I get so fed up with posters making sweeping statements, and insinuating that ‘My way’  is the only way, smacks of trying to control how you must vote.

    I'm sorry my comments have upset you.  Your choice on 12th December is indeed your own.

     

  3. 3 hours ago, Bridgeman said:

    It would be nice if they would backdate the increase to when we moved over to Australia and give us back the money they have stolen from us.

    Yes, that would be great.  But Labour's manifesto pledge guarantees at least that the value of your UK state pension from now on will increase by at least 2.5% a year.  After years of hard campaigning particularly by Australian and Canadian pensioners, this represents a significant policy shift.

  4. 39 minutes ago, Paul1Perth said:

    You do get the same out if you pay the same in. Me and the wife could have caught up on our contributions and got a full UK pension, we chose not to as we wanted to get rid of the mortgage quicker with spare cash. Another reason is exchange rate fluctuation affects the amount and it's a guessing game.

    Everyone living abroad can top up their NI payments. If they choose not to and want to find other ways to pay for their retirement years it's personal choice.

    But up to now you don't get the same out if you live in Australia and other mainly commonwealth countries because you are not entitled to the annual "triple lock" upgrades of at lease 2.5% p.a.  Oddly, if you retire to the EU or USA you do get the upgrades.  The  UK government will even pay you the fully updated amount if you return to the UK for more than one month.  Labour's manifesto commitment in part rectifies this by paying the upgrades for now on.  For a new retiree that means an ongoing commitment to pay a pension of the same value as that in the UK.

    I accept that not everyone wants to add to the NI contribution fund and receive a full pension.  It is a personal choice.

     

  5. 1 hour ago, Paul1Perth said:

    I suppose your moral argument works for Aussie taxpayers but reverse for UK ones. Why would they want to stump up more money for people who chose to leave the UK by their own choice? They knew the rules, or should have, when they chose to move. If I were a UK resident it would be another reason I wouldn't vote Labour.

    A couple of points. 

    -  Many people weren't aware their UK state pensions were to be frozen by moving abroad.

    -  The principle holds that wherever in the world life takes you, if you pay the same amount of National Insurance contributions in then you should get the same amount out. 

    I think any fair minded UK citizen would hold to that principle, and these are exactly the ones who would vote Labour.

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  6. Aboriginal or Cornish.  It hardly matters.  What counts is the quality of his scholarship going back over the records and diaries of the first European settlers in Australia.

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  7. The figures are based on the full basic rate of state pension.  I got them from https://adviser.royallondon.com/technical-central/rates-and-factors/state-pension/basic-state-pension-rates/ . I imagine that you could add additional amounts to that based on the amount of SERPS you had, but that will vary from individual to individual.  But the principle holds that UK state pensions are frozen and that Labour's proposals, at the least, will prevent them from diminishing further in value.

    I'm glad that you have chosen to vote Labour and share your worries about the future of the NHS if left in Tory hands.

  8. Yes beyond a protected amount, you will be able to take 50% of your UK state pension on a Centrelink assets test.  So regardless whether you rely on superannuation to top up your retirement income, a Centrelink age pension, or a combination of both, you will still be better off with Labour's UK state pension incease.

    But there is also a moral argument as well.  Australian tax payers make up the difference in means tested cases.

    Labour sees a future in which new UK pension recipients get the full pension with annual increments of 2.5%+ regardless of where you live in the world.  That's got to be fairer on Australian tax payers.  If you've paid 35+ years of NI contributions in the UK you should get the full pension entitlement and ease the burden on Australian taxpayers.

    My votes for Labour as a big step towards this.

  9. Anybody from the UK who has paid National Insurance Contributions for at least ten years is entitled a part UK state pension upon their retirement.  If you've paid 35 years of National Insurance contributions you are entitled to a full basic UK state pension.  It's possible to pay "Class 2" contributions if you've been working in Australia to make up complete missing years.  For those who have not worked for some of those years, more expensive "Class 3" contributions can be made to improve your UK State Pension.  For details on exactly how to do this, I would suggest you contact "British Pensions in Australia", an independent voluntary and campaigning organisation which has developed expertise in this area over many years (see https://www.bpia.org.au/ ).

      A basic full British state pension is currently £168.60 per week.  If you retired before April 2016, the full basic rate of pension is £129.20 per week.  Sadly though, British Pensioners living in Australia and many other mainly commonwealth countries have been disadvantaged over the years because the value of their UK state pensions has been "frozen" to that available on the date a person retired.  Hence, for example, a person who retired in 2000 would not get £168.60 but instead would receive £67.50 per week.

    However, if Labour is elected on 12th December 2019, the situation improves for British pensioners living in Australia.  Labour will apply the "triple lock" to UK state pensioners living over here.  This means that the value of pensions will go up by at least 2.5% a year.  For people retiring after Labour's new rules come in, it means that their pensions are "unfrozen".  What you get as a full basic pension from the UK in Australia will always be the same as what you would get in Britain.  For those who have already retired, the "triple lock" annual increase will be applied to the "frozen value". 

    Labour's offering represents a real improvement for British state pensioners in Australia.  Vote for the conservatives and nothing like this is on offer.

    If you have a vote in the UK elections, I would urge you to consider voting Labour to help secure this direct benefit in your standard of living.

    Labour's manifesto can be read at https://labour.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Real-Change-Labour-Manifesto-2019.pdf .  The discussion on pensions is on page 76.  

    The British Labour Party branch covering Australia and New Zealand can be contacted at australasia@labourinternational.net .  Our twitter account is

    @AusNZ_Labour .  See us on instagram at  australasia_labour

     

     

     

     

  10. Dark Emu is a powerful book.  It goes to the accounts of early white explorers and settlers to describe a pre-European Australia of settled farming communities.  I'm fortunate to have living evidence of such a community close by where I live in south west Victoria.  The Budj Bim Cultural landscape has recently been granted UNESCO World Heritage status.  It contains the architectural remains of a stone hut community of at least 200 homes built around a wooden and stone eel traps.  The traps go back at 6,000 years.  A keeping place and interpretation centre is being built on site, and the intention is to put some of the traps back in operation, but even now visitors can clearly see the remains of huts and traps.  Pascoe points out the remains of other dams for acquaculture and agriculture all over Australia.  Budj Bim is no "one off".  Read Pacoe's book and your view of Aboriginal Australia may be profoundly changed.

  11. Hi Ali - I'm not really in the business of solixiting Tory votes, but yes, if your in-laws live overseas they coukd follow the pprocedure described on the meme and vote. But if you have sympathy with Labour, I'd urge you to register if you've lived overseas for less than 15 years.

    Generally, speaking, if you have a care for family left in the UK or you have been paying UK Nstional Insurance contributions for more than ten years (which qualifies you for a part state pension) then I would argue that you still have a stake on what happens there - even if you don't plan to return.

    Labour Votes provide the best way to protect their and possibly your interests.

    I have no intention of living in the UK again - so probably wouldn't - but my in laws are Tory voters, so we could technically give them two more votes.
  12. Besides colluding with terrorists and being a proven anti-semite absolutley nothing against the guy. I assert nonetheless that the two reasons I state are more than enough to want him not to be Prime Minister
    Jeremy Corbyn is a longstanding anti-racist who has actually taken part in activities to defend Jewish people in his constituency. Jeremy has always worked for peace in Northern Ireland. Yes, he met sinn fein leaders, but so did the UK government in secret talks that led to peace talks and the ceasefire called the Good Friday agreement.

    Aside from that, Labour offering a jobs creating Green Industrial Revolution which will allow the nation to tackle the pressing problem of clinate change. Hecalso intends to end the crippling poverty in the UK raising vulnerable individuals and families above the foodbank line. I recommend looking out for Labour's full manifesto which should be pyblished next week.
  13. If you have  lived overseas for less than 15 years, your vote in the UK General Election on December 12th matters.
     
    Apply to vote in the Thursday 12th December UK General Election at
     
    We suggest that once registered, you apply to your last UK local council for a "proxy vote". Generally, this is somebody living in or near your last constituency who can vote in a polling station on your behalf.
     
    Postal votes take too long to arrive to vote and then post back from Australia and New Zealand.
     
    DEADLINES:-
     
    Midnight Tue 26 Nov:
    - Register to Vote application received by Electoral Registration Officer:
    5 pm Wed 27 Nov:
    - Your proxy’s application to vote by post received by Electoral Registration Officer
    - Application to change or cancel an existing proxy, postal or postal proxy vote received by Electoral Registration Officer:
    5 pm Wed 4 Dec:
    - Application for a new proxy vote received by Electoral Registration Officer
    (All times are UK)
     
    This information brought to you by the Australasian branch of the British Labour Party. To help us campaign for Labour amongst Britons living in Australia and New Zealand, please contact australasia@labourinternational.net.

    Web: https://www.labourinternational.net/

    Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/australasia_labour/

    Twitter: @AusNZ_Labour

    Australasia Register to Vote Meme.jpeg

  14. Yes the attitude of the UK uni is a "known" unknown.  We will have to see what they say.  The attitude of potential placements here in South West Victoria also have to be tested.  I know from experience as a student at Flinders University SA, that Victorian placements were hard to get as many give preference to students from Victorian Universities.  That said, there can't be too much demand for placements in rural SW Victoria as compared to Melbourne.  We'll work through these issues but the visa is the big unknown.

  15. My daughter (Age 35) is a British Citizen living in England.  I'm an Australian/British dual national living in Victoria.  She begins a BSc course in Physiotherapy at a UK University in September with a view to her and her young family joining us in Australia (assuming she obtains her one year's post qualification experience and physiotherapy remains on the skilled occupation list).

    We had planned for her, her husband and daughter to spend a short holiday with us in Victoria next August.  However, she has just found out that she has to do her first, month long student work experience placement in August 2020.  It occurred to us that she might be able to do this placement here instead of having a holiday.  She would, of course, return to her studies in the UK after completing the placement.  The student placement would likely be in a local hospital, physiotherapist's practice, or aged care home.

    I've spoken on the phone to the Immigration department in Melbourne and they pointed me to a Subclass 651 eVisitors passport or a SubClass 407 Training Visa (I'd never heard of the Training Visa before).

    I'm still unclear as to which of these two visas would be appropriate.  Has anybody had any experience in using either of these visas for this purpose - or has anybody used another visa to cover a student work experience placement?  A working holiday visa wouldn't cut it as she's already had one and now has a family.

    Any advice regarding this would be welcome and appreciated.

     

     

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