Be warned, don't go near Thesaurus Tangle game unless

you have some time to spare as it is addictive!!

Or the Daily Crossword Puzzle

Minister Bruce'S

Policy Statement

Maximising the potential of Australia and of each of its citizens is essential.

Each of our citizens has the inalienable right to all the learning they might ever want to do throughout their whole lifetime. Government must always assist and never hinder this. All learning must be totally free, including everyone having free access to all the areas of learning and all the tools of learning.

The universal pension will provide everyone with sufficient income to live on without needing to work to supplement it while they are learning. What people choose to learn or how they choose to learn it will be their totally free choice. The purpose of all this freedom associated with learning is to offer those who choose it alternatives to formal education and the opportunity to go beyond its prescriptive limitations. Part of this freedom is to offer to each individual freedom of both intellectual and geographical movement.

Australia is everything physical in it but it is fundamentally its people, each one in whatever pursuits they choose must be assisted to become the very best at doing them that they can be.

An Australia with everyone maximised in this way will be a happily maximised Australia.

[The Department of Maximisation will work closely with the Departments of Vision and Hope]

At 11:19 on 5/12/00, Our Vertical Premier commanded: Minister for Maximisation (Education): I would like to hear your views on the universal pension.

The universal pension has other forms in other lands, where it is often known as a guaranteed minimum income.

Here, through Oz inventiveness, we are taking all of the pensions anyone gets, with their fringe benefits factored in, and making it one pension for all. It is set at the top level of the current pensions, which I think is 25% of the current average wage (or is it the minimum wage?), with the intent to over time boost it higher.

In its Australian version it will be given to everyone regardless of their other income, so no one will be able to complain about anyone else being a bludger. Put on top of everyone's income, a proportion will immediately return to the Tax Dept. Savings of related administrative costs will be achieved by no longer having to monitor the recipients, the whole universal pension scheme will be administered by the Tax Dept, which will learn to GIVE money.

To ease their load, taxation will immediately be set at a flat rate which *everyone* will pay. No claims can be made against it and all 'packages' must be judged at their total value; those apparently dodging tax will be nominated an apparent income and have to prove they don't get it.

Children will receive a percentage of the adult pension, escalating to a full pension on their fifteenth birthday.

Minister for Maximisation Bruce