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Welcome to this second edition of Inside Politics.

The political landscape has had a decent shake up in the last week, and saw quite a bit of activity on the senate floor. Before we get onto this week's interview with Iwarrior1, lets take a look at this weeks hot topics.

Senate Impeachment Amendment
This amendment was floated by Senator CookieAU. The changes center around senators behavior in regards to government orders, improper use of the proposals (such as erroneous tax hikes, min wage increases etc), and accepting citizenship without permission from an appropriate authority. The debate over the amendment turned a bit sour, and got a bit away from the issue. TBP Senator Chris Stanwick was clearly against the amendment, and with his recent article The Argument For Lulz Proposals it leads to the question, does eAus have too much red tape, or are certain actions of a senator considered unethical?

I can understand both points of view, its extra xp for senators and it doesn't really hurt anyone as proposals that aren't discussed on the forum require an automatic no vote. But on the same token, do we want to see all the extra proposals a month popping up? All i can really see it doing is creating more work for senators, and could lead to the possibility of serious proposals being voted down by accident. This one hasn't come to a vote yet, and seems like it may go through a few more edits before it goes off to the voting hall.

eAustralian Taxation Act Amendment
Proposed by ADSP Senator Xavier Darkmyre, this amendment is a proposal aimed at plugging the hole in the budget created by the recent NBA scandal, and includes 3 separate tax increases, VAT, income tax and import tax. Then the politics came in, and the left and the right squared off in an intense floor debate. Minister of Finance Dark Vorodor answered some questions on the state of the budget, giving a very strong position on why this tax increase is necessary. Quoted from the floor of parliament, this is what the minister had to say.

"Does Australia have a standard monthly federal budget? Or do we just wing it and transfer funds only when necessary?"

MoF : Yes. A budget is composed by the Treasurer or Minister of Finance at the start of each Country President's term under the Portfolio Budget Act. I completed September's Budget a few weeks ago and can be found here. All projects and spending have been paid this term and it is the department's responsibility to complete them now. I am just finishing off by collecting any income made by the government. Funds are transferred any time to the NBA when it is necessary under the Treasury Act.

"Hell no, if we are really having problems meeting the budget then we need to decrease spending. Raising taxes is not the way."


MoF : We can not suddenly cut spending. Some spending are Acts of Parliaments and MUST be passed as they are the law. Also, we we suddenly cut and burn bridges, our government will just sit there with no growth, no projects and nothing to do for the rest of the term. Spending creates projects which is a crucial part in building a country. However, I understand that due to the theft this term, projects and spending were kept constant. However we can not sit and twiddle thumbs forever and we must start building up our planned future.

MoF : This leads to the tax rise issue, I think it is necessary and important for the Senate to pass this. Firstly have a look at the National Bank of Australia's (NBA) current accounts. We have roughly 750gold which have been built from the 400gold this term. However, this amount is still not enough. Our National Bank needs a "float" which should be increasing each month. To keep it at a safe level, the "float" should be over 1000gold which which will be the government's short term goal. This will also build a gold reserve to buy-out Western Australia's companies, which will be the government's long-term goal. To do this, it is preferable and recommended to have a raise in taxes. These taxes will not hit the pockets of workers too hard, instead aiming at companies and GM's.

MoF : In addition, with eAustralia has a greater number of GFC's than we have had in previous governments. Currently, we have the stockpiling of Q3 and Q5 weapons, the Q2 Iron, PP housing and its Centrelink companies. To run these, we need AUD which can be obtained from taxes, instead of having constant AUD prints. AUD prints will increase inflation in the AUD if we constantly print more than required. Our growth and permanent projects are now more than what eAustralia use to be when these taxes were first made in here. The last full major update of these taxes were on 2nd January 2009 which is shown here. As you can see, these are so old it is on our old forum. These taxes will need to be updated to sustain our growth and the baby-boom we had for the past few months. It will slowly get more expensive to run the country with more people and tax rises and updates such as these are required. Simply, this is a update of the taxation system. We can possibly implement an incremental change slowly so eAustralia will be adapted to these changes and updates to minimize any problems with the transition.

MoF : My above explanation may be a "wall-of-text" but I would like each Senator to read it carefully. I hope some of you will reconsider your decision with these amendments.


This lead to provisions being added, that the tax increase be reviewed every 2 months. All in all, the one thing i got from this discussion is we have an excellent senate at the moment, the debate on this subject was mature, and well planned. All sides of politics provided excellent comments and suggestions to this one, and the senate should be applauded for their conduct. This one is also still before the voting hall, and looks to be a close finish, with both sides of the issue gaining strong support.

Speaker and Deputy Speaker
Nominations were put forward, and the senate elected Aussie Vegeta as Speaker by a clear 7 votes. Mark Sanchez beat Guy Baumber by one vote to gain the Deputy Speaker position.



Iwarrior1

This week i started looking at various senators wondering who i could pick for this week's interview, when i stumbled across some news articles, by the name of Iwarrior1's Records. If you haven't read these, i highly recommend it, its a great insight into the history of eAustralia, because while looking forward, you should never forget how you got there in the first place. He has been around eAus for a long time, and has been apart of pretty much every major event in recent history. Here's what a few random people on IRC had to say about him :

+Bass Iwarrior is great senator, and a great member of ANP
+Bass Does a top-notch job
%scotywest Iwarrior1 is a keen military dude
@Timeoin Iwarrior1 has all the useful functions of GM tools 😛
@Timeoin Iwarrior1 can help make your eClothes whiter and brighter!

So, before this article gets any longer than it already is, i present the current Deputy Minister of Defence, 4 term Senator, ANP Vice Party-President (and former PP), Boot-Camp Commander and Dropbear. Firstly, did i miss any positions? lol
Iwarrior1: Considering how much I've been able to plug myself, I think extreme narcisist would be fitting as well.

Brenflakes: You've been a long serving member of many different eAus initiatives, including being involved in the original liberation of eAus from eIndo. How do you think eAus has progressed since gaining independence?
Iwarrior1: I think we've come a long way, and have shifted from becoming a developing nation to one that has the potential to be a major power in the world stage. However, despite our progress, many new players have lost sight of our history and the lessons it holds for us, as it has held for me. I've been publishing a series of articles called "Iwarrior's Records" in order to rectify this problem.

Brenflakes: What are your thoughts on the recent political turmoil in eIndo, specifically the RW recently started in WA. Do you think eIndo is being belligerent and taunting us, or is there more to it?
Iwarrior1: Like eAustralia, or any other nation for that matter, eIndo cannot be thought of as a single, united country. There are factions and parties. Citizens have differing opinions. It just so happens that Indonesia is so powerful that a faction can start RWs without government support.

Brenflakes: Where do you stand on us regaining WA?
Iwarrior1: I really would love to get WA and have a full nation once again - seeing it controlled by Indo is a real eyesore, regardless of the impact the influx of companies would have on our economy. But it's always better to have only six regions than none, and I don't want to see eAustralia go through months of being labeled a "Resistance Movement" yet again.

Brenflakes: In regards to eAus' future on the world stage, do you think we stand to benefit from sticking with Sol, or pursuing other alliances such as EDEN or PEACE?
Iwarrior1: I think joining Sol was a good move, entitling us to war games and some international support. But with Indonesia surrounding us, Sol only benefits the other member nations when it comes to defence. I'm still sitting on the fence in regards to EDEN/PEACE.

Brenflakes: What do you believe is the most pressing issue in eAus moving forward in the following months?
Iwarrior1: I can't really say what the most pressing issue will be. Maybe that's an issue in itself. Now that we've regained independence and grown, eAustralia doesn't exactly have a clear-cut direction. Future Senators and Prime Ministers will determine that.

Brenflakes: Some recent senate discussion has brought about the posibility of a tax increase due to the well known theft from the NBA. You've announced that you are against this tax increase, and you also suggested that perhaps some programs be cut back, such as the centrelink gifting scheme. What do you think is the best way for eAus to get our finances back to what they were prior to the theft?
Iwarrior1: In recent months, I had the impression that the budget had a large surplus. This no longer seems to be the case, and some senators (most notably of the ADSP and ACP) are using the NBA theft as an excuse to lobby for a 50% tax raise across the board. I think it will be far more effective and less detrimental to our economy to trim the fat in the budget. Of course, it might take several minutes to get into where we can find fat to trim, so I won't go into that.

Brenflakes: The ANP has gained a stronger voice in the senate, gaining 11 seats in the last senate elections, what do you think is drawing more voters to the ANP?
Iwarrior1: As I recall, when Mr. Awesome was our Party President, our party activity lagged. Other than him, I was practically the only other active member. Recently, however, the ANP has become far more active in both its efforts on the forums and its efforts to recruit new members. Perhaps it'll be saying too much to say we'll someday overtake the ADSP in membership, but with the ANP thriving once again, I promise the eAustralian public that we'll be gunning for that.

Brenflakes: With the senate campaign over for another month, all eyes will be turning towards the big job. What do you think the voters should look for when choosing our new Prime Minister?
Iwarrior1: The eAustralian public should look for a candidate with a good understanding of Erepublik and eAustralia politics, experience in both the military and the senate, solid policies, and above all, activity.

Brenflakes: You've played a massive role in the Boot Camp training for newer members, what exactly does the boot camp involve, and why should people join up?
Iwarrior1: Boot Camp is intended to both educate soldiers and aid them in their efforts to rank up and become more powerful. Every two days, we give applicants a small quiz and give two free weapons to the ones who answer. New players will be able to appreciate this help most. The new round has just started, so Boot Camp will begin accepting applications in about two weeks.

Brenflakes: Getting on to your current cabinet role as dMoD, can you explain what it is you do, and how the MoD functions?
Iwarrior1: Since I'm only a Deputy, I don't deal with the big picture or work directly with the three branches (Dropbears, ACUK, AAR). That's the job of the MoD and the Marshalls. Most of my work entails running the military GFCs and providing support in the event of major operations. Of course, this can change over time. The military is still going under an overhaul, but the Military Structure and Logistics act provides much of the structure.

Brenflakes: Finally, being such a long standing member, and being involved in so many different projects and things over your time in eRep, what keeps you coming back, and what advice would you give to newer citizens?
Iwarrior1: Erepublik isn't like other games - I don't find it repetitious, and it has a cerebral side to it. Since I've been around so long, I think one thing the new guard needs is both hindsight and foresight. I know I am able to provide the hindsight.

Brenflakes: That just about wraps it up for another week, thanks for your talking with us today Iwarrior1 and sharing your views, is there anything you would like to add?
Iwarrior1: Vote ANP and Melchizedeck Smith! Other than the plug, nothing much, but thanks for the interview.

Also just released, is Iwarrior's Records Part Four, so go check it out!


Country President Elections

Now im not going to crap on too much about the CP elections, as there are plenty of articles out there where there is heated discussion going on, and people asking questions of the candidates. All im going to say, is make sure the person you vote for is the person that shares your ideals, and your vision for eAustralia's future. Get involved, read the articles, vote up the ones you like. Its your chance to decide the next leader of our fine nation. There are many good candidates out there this month, all of them are very experienced members of our little community, and Inside Politics wishes them all the best of luck.


That's it for this week, hope you are still awake! Vote and sub if you like my articles, and sign up to the forums here otherwise you wont know what's going on in your own country, and that would make you lame 😛