{"id":112922,"date":"2023-04-28T16:53:50","date_gmt":"2023-04-28T16:53:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/?p=112922"},"modified":"2023-04-28T16:54:20","modified_gmt":"2023-04-28T16:54:20","slug":"noel-news-43","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/noel-news-43\/","title":{"rendered":"Noel News"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2 style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Noel News\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-112923 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Noel-News-eLanka-1-e1682699699128.jpg\" alt=\"Noel News-eLanka 1\" width=\"600\" height=\"413\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 16px; color: #000000;\"><em>&#8220;The budget should be balanced, the Treasury should be refilled, public debt should be reduced, the arrogance of officialdom should be tempered and controlled, and the assistance to foreign lands should be curtailed lest Rome become bankrupt. People must again learn to work, instead of living on public assistance.&#8221;\u00a0<\/em><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: 16px; color: #000000;\">CICERO &#8211; 55 BC<\/span><\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 16px; color: #000000;\">This is an early\u00a0newsletter:<\/span><\/h3>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 16px; color: #000000;\">The Federal Budget will be delivered on\u00a0<strong>Tuesday 9 May<\/strong>, after which I\u2019ll be doing a special bulletin. Labor has already promised no more changes to super but I\u2019ll believe that when I see it.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 16px; color: #000000;\">I\u2019ve got<strong>\u00a0three speeches<\/strong>\u00a0booked in after the budget and I am sending this newsletter now to give you plenty of notice if you would like to come.<\/span><\/p>\n<h1 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 16px; color: #000000;\">Inflation<\/span><\/h1>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 16px; color: #000000;\">The Reserve Bank usually announces interest-rate movements on the first Tuesday of the month, which means the next announcement will come on Tuesday next week. Of course, there are the usual differences of opinion as to what the rate rise, if any, may be. My suspicion is that they will announce another rise of .25%.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 16px; color: #000000;\">Inflation is getting worse and the building trade is a complete shambles.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 16px; color: #000000;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-112924\" src=\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Noel-News-eLanka-2-e1682699841389.png\" alt=\"Noel News-eLanka 2\" width=\"600\" height=\"283\" \/><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 16px; color: #000000;\">Builders are going broke everywhere. Brickworks Limited have announced a reduction in their brick output because of a lack of demand for bricks \u2013 not because bricks are no longer needed, but because there is such a shortage of bricklayers that brick consumption is way down.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 16px; color: #000000;\">While we were playing golf last week, a friend who is running a huge residential construction project at the Gold Coast told me that many contracts are falling through because the builders can\u2019t complete them, which gives potential buyers a get-out. It\u2019s also difficult to hold sales when nobody knows when the final completion date will be. He said that over Easter the CFMEU called for eight days of special leave, which put the building sites that were operating even further backwards.\u00a0 At present, if you want a concrete pour you have to book in three months ahead!<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 16px; color: #000000;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-112925\" src=\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Noel-News-eLanka-3.png\" alt=\"Noel News-eLanka 3\" width=\"200\" height=\"565\" \/><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 16px; color: #000000;\">Another friend told me that he had a commercial building all approved and set to go two years ago, with an expected building cost of $25 million. Right now, he can\u2019t find any builders and the best guess for the final cost is over $50 million.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 16px; color: #000000;\">I have no idea where this madness is going to end. If you drive around Brisbane now, it is just full of cranes with construction going flat out everywhere. It\u2019s the same in most suburbs and I\u2019m sure it\u2019s going on right around the country. I\u2019m not at all convinced that continually pushing up interest rates will have much of a positive effect. All it does is hurt the poor families with kids and a mortgage.<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: 16px; color: #000000;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-112926\" src=\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Noel-News-eLanka-4-e1682699964491.jpg\" alt=\"Noel News-eLanka 4\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\" \/><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 16px; color: #000000;\">I guess we should feel lucky that we don\u2019t live in the United Kingdom. The latest inflation data from their Office for National Statistics shows that last month it decelerated from 10.4% to 10.1% \u2013 despite predictions of 9.8%. These numbers are unlikely to be much consolation for those struggling with food inflation, which remains at a staggering 19.1%. Some products, like olive oil, are up by 49%. There are numerous reasons why food prices seem to be immune to the general downturn: these include poor harvests, Brexit trade barriers, the war in Ukraine, high costs for raw materials and rising labour costs.<\/span><\/p>\n<h1 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 16px; color: #000000;\">Stay focused<\/span><\/h1>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 16px; color: #000000;\">Yes, there is plenty to be concerned about, but I\u2019m most worried by recent research from Finder that reveals many Australian households feel like \u201ca deer in the headlights\u201d \u2013 they are so frightened that they feel unfit to make financial decisions.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 16px; color: #000000;\">It\u2019s a natural reaction but not a helpful one. The way to solve a problem is to go back to basics. If a bushfire was bearing down on your home, you wouldn\u2019t be sitting in the lounge room doing nothing \u2013 you\u2019d be preparing your home in case the fire did strike. It\u2019s the same with your finances.<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: 16px; color: #000000;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-112927\" src=\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Noel-News-eLanka-5-e1682700062520.jpg\" alt=\"Noel News-eLanka 5\" width=\"600\" height=\"312\" \/><\/span><\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 16px; color: #000000;\">Start by writing down where you are right now.<\/span><\/h3>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/h3>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 16px; color: #000000;\">List your assets and liabilities, paying particular attention to any debts. Focus on any home loan first and try to refinance at a lower rate. To do this, your debt must be less than 80% of the value of your home, otherwise mortgage insurance will make it too expensive. The next step is to ensure your payments are at least $632 a month for every $100,000 you owe. That would be $2528 a month on a $400,000 loan. This is based on an interest rate of 6.5%, which will cover your interest and keep you afloat.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 16px; color: #000000;\">The next step is to do a budget.<\/span><\/h3>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/h3>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 16px; color: #000000;\">There is no better place to start than\u00a0<a style=\"color: #000000;\" href=\"https:\/\/noelwhittaker.us7.list-manage.com\/track\/click?u=da9eb27efd0124961082a497a&amp;id=ee228540c7&amp;e=d75f854b0e\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=https:\/\/noelwhittaker.us7.list-manage.com\/track\/click?u%3Dda9eb27efd0124961082a497a%26id%3Dee228540c7%26e%3Dd75f854b0e&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1682785963471000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0yuMouMmqidWFHuFTQjhmN\">ASIC\u2019s MoneySmart website; moneysmart.gov.au<\/a>. The material available there for free is probably the best in the country. Their page,\u00a0<a style=\"color: #000000;\" href=\"https:\/\/noelwhittaker.us7.list-manage.com\/track\/click?u=da9eb27efd0124961082a497a&amp;id=c292935ac9&amp;e=d75f854b0e\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=https:\/\/noelwhittaker.us7.list-manage.com\/track\/click?u%3Dda9eb27efd0124961082a497a%26id%3Dc292935ac9%26e%3Dd75f854b0e&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1682785963471000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1pCjPOeBXXScGT-LIxDC2P\">Budgeting<\/a>, starts with everything you need to get going. They also provide a free online budget planner that is easy to use and lets you save your results online. It lets you enter all your income and expenses and break them down into a wide range of categories. There is also an \u201cother\u201d category for expenses they have not listed.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 16px; color: #000000;\">Next, think about your credit card<\/span><\/h3>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/h3>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 16px; color: #000000;\">Your credit card is a great barometer to help you understand your financial position. If you are using a credit card now and\u00a0pay the balance in full by the due date every month, it\u2019s a strong indication that you are living within your means. Congratulations! However, if you are not able to pay the entire balance\u00a0before the due date, it\u2019s a major warning signal that you need to take urgent action. Failure to do so can set you on a serious downhill path. My book\u00a0<a style=\"color: #000000;\" href=\"https:\/\/noelwhittaker.us7.list-manage.com\/track\/click?u=da9eb27efd0124961082a497a&amp;id=5e24d5526e&amp;e=d75f854b0e\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=https:\/\/noelwhittaker.us7.list-manage.com\/track\/click?u%3Dda9eb27efd0124961082a497a%26id%3D5e24d5526e%26e%3Dd75f854b0e&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1682785963471000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1XTsZKvKcbhWbLd9CcWA8f\"><em>Making Money Made Simple<\/em><\/a>\u00a0has a whole chapter on getting out of credit card debt.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 16px; color: #000000;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-112928\" src=\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Noel-News-eLanka-6-e1682700139120.jpg\" alt=\"Noel News-eLanka 6\" width=\"600\" height=\"237\" \/><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 16px; color: #000000;\">Right now the media is full of all sorts of gloomy predictions, but I reckon it\u2019s a safe bet that interest rates will keep on rising, and inflation will stay high despite the efforts of the Reserve Bank. This is not a time to be complacent and give in to inertia, hoping things will get better.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 16px; color: #000000;\">The strategies I have mentioned today are simple things that will get you on the right track. And they can do more than that: just taking action focuses your mind on what needs to be done to stay out of trouble and will give you energy and a sense of purpose that will carry you through. These are challenging times; your major goal is to survive them.<\/span><\/p>\n<h1 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 16px; color: #000000;\">Events coming up<\/span><\/h1>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 16px; color: #000000;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-112929\" src=\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Noel-News-eLanka-7-e1682700339631.jpg\" alt=\"Noel News-eLanka 7\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\" \/><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 16px; color: #000000;\">On\u00a0<strong>Friday ,12 May\u00a0<\/strong>I\u2019ll be giving a speech in\u00a0<strong>Ballina, New South Wales\u00a0<\/strong>for the Association of Independent retirees from 10 to 11 am.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 16px; color: #000000;\">On\u00a0<strong>Wednesday, 17 May<\/strong>\u00a0The Southside Chamber of Commerce in\u00a0<strong>Brisbane<\/strong>\u00a0will be having a breakfast meeting starting at 7 am at the Mt Gravatt Bowls Club (to be confirmed).<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 16px; color: #000000;\">The third event is on\u00a0<strong>Wednesday 24 May<\/strong>\u00a0for the Centaur financial planning group based in\u00a0<strong>Palm Beach<\/strong>, from 10 to 11:30 am at the Currumbin RSL.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 16px; color: #000000;\">All events are free.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 16px; color: #000000;\">If you would like to go, please contact me on\u00a0<a style=\"color: #000000;\" href=\"mailto:noel@noelwhittaker.com.au?subject=Events%20coming%20up\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">noel@noelwhittaker.com.au<\/a>\u00a0and I\u2019ll put you in touch with the organisers in each case.<\/span><\/p>\n<h1 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 16px; color: #000000;\">Aged care changes<\/span><\/h1>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 16px; color: #000000;\">The aged care interest rate went up to 7.46% on 1 April. It was the sixth consecutive increase since October 2021, when it was 4.01%. The change is likely to affect how people choose to pay for aged care accommodation. In most situations, you have the choice to pay for your accommodation by a lump sum, a daily payment or a combination of both (including deducting your daily payment from your lump sum). The daily payment is simply interest on any unpaid lump sum. When the rate increases, lump sums become more attractive to residents as daily payments become more expensive.<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: 16px; color: #000000;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-112930\" src=\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Noel-News-eLanka-8-e1682700422149.jpg\" alt=\"Noel News-eLanka 8\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\" \/><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 16px; color: #000000;\">An aged care bed with a Refundable Accommodation Deposit (RAD) of $550,000 had an equivalent daily payment of $60\/day ($22,055\/year) in October 2021. Since the latest increase, that same bed will have a daily payment of $112\/day ($41,030\/year). While $550,000 is a common price (it is the cut-off for requiring government approval), in some cities it is not uncommon to find bed prices of $1 million and more.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 16px; color: #000000;\">The new rate applies to people who move into aged care from 1 April 2023 and to some existing residents who choose to move rooms or to another home.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 16px; color: #000000;\">Accommodation is just one part of aged care costs. Residents pay a basic daily fee, set at 85% of the single age pension, currently $59\/day ($21,528\/year). You can also pay a means-tested care fee (based on your assets and income) of up to $358\/day (capped at $31,707 a year and $76,097 over your lifetime). Beyond that are personal expenses, which may include extra service fees for things like wine, entertainment and hairdressing as well as clothing, medication and gifts.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 16px; color: #000000;\">Most people wrongly believe that because aged care is means-tested, it is affordable \u2013 that\u2019s simply not true.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 16px; color: #000000;\">Let\u2019s look at Shirley.<\/span><\/h3>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 16px; color: #000000;\">She has a home worth $950,000, as well as $100,000 of investments and $10,000 in personal assets. Her personal expenses are $25 per day, she receives $27,664 a year in age pension and $3,000 a year in interest. The aged care home she wants to move into has a RAD price of $500,000.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 16px; color: #000000;\">If Shirley pays by daily payment, her cost of care will be $189 per day ($69,054\/year), of which $102 is her accommodation payment. For most residents, this will be the situation when they enter aged care. So Shirley\u2019s costs exceed her income by $38,390 a year.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 16px; color: #000000;\">Possibly her biggest decision will be whether to keep or sell the family home. This can be a hard decision for sentimental reasons, and financially speaking, keeping the home can have benefits too. It has a capped value of $193,219 for the aged care means test, and a 2-year asset test exemption for calculating her age pension.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 16px; color: #000000;\">Aged Care Guru Rachel Lane says that while selling your home often means that you can free up the funds you need to pay a RAD, reducing or eliminating the DAP cost, it can come with unexpected consequences. If your home\u2019s value is significantly greater than the RAD, the extra funds may reduce your pension (a potential loss of up to $27,664\/year) and increase the means-tested care fee you need to pay (a potential cost of up to $31,707\/year).<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 16px; color: #000000;\">Aged care decisions are complex, and you don\u2019t want to end up \u201crobbing Peter to pay Paul\u201d.\u00a0 Seeking advice from a retirement living and aged care specialist is a smart way to ensure that you understand your options and there are no nasty surprises down the track.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 16px; color: #000000;\">If you do need age care advice and you don\u2019t know an aged care specialist advisor, just email me and I\u2019ll recommend a good one for you.<\/span><\/p>\n<h1 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 16px; color: #000000;\">Health matters<\/span><\/h1>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 16px; color: #000000;\">In my book\u00a0<em>Retirement Made Simple<\/em>, in the final section, on living a healthy and happy life, I wrote \u201cI\u2019m going to introduce you to the importance of having a healthy gut, in the hope that you will investigate further, as it could play a major part in how well you age. The bottom line is that certain foods, such as sugary drinks, red meat, and processed and fried foods can be harmful to your gut. A diversified diet based around fruit and vegetables, on the other hand, is not too hard to follow and can mean major health improvements. And of course you do get your treats: a glass of red wine and a piece of dark chocolate a day are not just okay but recommended. I reckon that\u2019s pretty good.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 16px; color: #000000;\">I must confess three of my favourite things are coffee, wine and chocolate.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 16px; color: #000000;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-112931\" src=\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Noel-News-eLanka-9-e1682700531692.jpg\" alt=\"Noel News-eLanka 9\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\" \/><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 16px; color: #000000;\">A study in 2011 from the University of Cambridge found that \u201chigh levels of chocolate consumption might be associated with a\u00a0one third reduction\u00a0in the risk of developing heart disease\u201d. Specifically, the \u201chighest levels of chocolate consumption were associated with a 37 per cent reduction in cardiovascular disease and a 29 per cent reduction in stroke compared with lowest levels\u201d. Even more exciting: dark chocolate may stave off artery hardening in smokers.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 16px; color: #000000;\">Science has started taking the mood-lifting benefits of chocolate seriously. A 2019 study from University College London found that eating dark chocolate \u201cmay positively affect mood and relieve depressive symptoms\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 16px; color: #000000;\">If you search online, you\u2019ll find a lot of material about the benefits of chocolate. I won\u2019t be stopping \u2013 I have two squares of dark chocolate every day.<\/span><\/p>\n<h1 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 16px; color: #000000;\">And finally<\/span><\/h1>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 16px; color: #000000;\"><em>If God wanted us to vote, he would have given us candidates.\u00a0\u00a0<\/em><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: 16px; color: #000000;\">Jay Leno<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 16px; color: #000000;\"><em>The problem with political jokes is they get elected.<\/em><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: 16px; color: #000000;\">Henry Cate VII<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 16px; color: #000000;\"><em>We hang the petty thieves and appoint the great ones to public office. \u00a0\u00a0<\/em><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: 16px; color: #000000;\">Aesop<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 16px; color: #000000;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-112932\" src=\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Noel-News-eLanka-10-e1682700597301.jpg\" alt=\"Noel News-eLanka 10\" width=\"600\" height=\"424\" \/><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 16px; color: #000000;\"><em>If we got one-tenth of what was promised to us in these State of the Union speeches,\u00a0there wouldn&#8217;t be any inducement to go to heaven. \u00a0 \u00a0<\/em><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: 16px; color: #000000;\">Will Rogers<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 16px; color: #000000;\"><em>Politicians are the same all over. They promise to build a bridge even where there is no river.<\/em><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: 16px; color: #000000;\">Nikita Khrushchev<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 16px; color: #000000;\"><em>When I was a boy I was told that anybody could become President; I&#8217;m beginning to believe it.<\/em><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: 16px; color: #000000;\">Clarence Darrow<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 16px; color: #000000;\"><em>Why pay money to have your family tree traced; go into politics and your opponents will do it for you.<\/em><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: 16px; color: #000000;\">Author unknown<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 16px; color: #000000;\"><em>Politicians are people who, when they see light at the end of the tunnel, go out and buy some more tunnel.<\/em><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: 16px; color: #000000;\">John Quinton<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 16px; color: #000000;\"><em>Politics is the gentle art of getting votes from the poor and campaign funds from the rich, by promising to protect each from the other. \u00a0<\/em><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: 16px; color: #000000;\">Oscar Ameringer<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 16px; color: #000000;\"><em>I offer my opponents a bargain: if they will stop telling lies about us, I will stop telling the truth about them.<\/em><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: 16px; color: #000000;\">Adlai Stevenson, campaign speech, 1952<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 16px; color: #000000;\"><em>A politician is a fellow who will lay down your life for his country.<\/em><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: 16px; color: #000000;\">Tex Guinan<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 16px; color: #000000;\"><em>I have come to the conclusion that politics is too serious a matter to be left to the politicians.<\/em><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: 16px; color: #000000;\">Charles de Gaulle<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 16px; color: #000000;\"><em>Instead of giving a politician the keys to the city, it might be better to change the locks.<\/em><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: 16px; color: #000000;\">Doug Larson<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 16px; color: #000000;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-92307 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Noel-Whittaker.jpg\" alt=\"Noel Whittaker\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" \/><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 16px; color: #000000;\">I hope you have enjoyed the latest edition of Noel News.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 16px; color: #000000;\">Thanks for all your kind comments. Please continue to send feedback through; it&#8217;s always appreciated and helps us to improve the newsletter.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 16px; color: #000000;\">And don&#8217;t forget you&#8217;ll get more regular communications from me if you follow me on twitter &#8211; @NoelWhittaker.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 16px; color: #000000;\">Noel Whittaker<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Noel News\u00a0 &#8220;The budget should be balanced, the Treasury should be refilled, public debt should be reduced, the arrogance of officialdom should be tempered and controlled, and the assistance to foreign lands should be curtailed lest Rome become bankrupt. People must again learn to work, instead of living on public assistance.&#8221;\u00a0 CICERO &#8211; 55 BC [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":112923,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"aside","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[29468,18893],"class_list":{"0":"post-112922","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-aside","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-articles","8":"tag-noel-news","9":"tag-noel-whittaker","10":"post_format-post-format-aside"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v25.7.1 (Yoast SEO v25.9) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Noel News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"&quot;The budget should be balanced, the Treasury should be refilled, public debt should be reduced, the arrogance of officialdom should\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, 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