I AM fascinated by the direction of the commodities taxing debate. The PM is saying he won’t increase taxes on the production or export of gas and minerals, while his principal advisers are saying the opposite. Australia’s present economic position centres on the very high borrowing regime of our government’s ever-growing debt structure as high […]
WHEN you live in a small community and basically know or are known by the majority of its population, then you express a strong opinion at your own peril. If you seek to survive in this society, it is imperative that you are fair and reasonable to all sides of the political and social divide. […]
THE Treasurer handed down his Budget with the theme of correcting the intergenerational imbalance on housing. He used this excuse to introduce new taxes in order to reduce his government’s borrowing crisis. The theory is that the older generation invests in housing by adopting legal methods of ownership such as negatively gearing their finance, then […]
I’M sure that none of us consider ourselves competent enough to negotiate the end of the present Middle East war between the USA-Israel and Iran, but they had top negotiators from Pakistan to take the middle ground for that purpose. The US claimed a deal has been agreed, saying they would stop hostilities immediately because […]
THE long Easter weekend provided me with the opportunity to stay close to home and delivered down time for me to think about our world and where we are headed. Yes, I know that was a mistake and I’m still agonising over the fact that I should have found something more productive to do with […]
WE all know the story about the straw that broke the camel’s back. So, let us relate that issue to our present economic reality in Australia. The fuel supply and price per litre is our number one issue at present. We know that the war with Iran is now only four weeks old (at […]
AN important issue that should be contemplated by the retired residents in our area is how we pass on our assets to the next generation. This is something that we would like to happen in a tax-effective manner which provides an additional benefit to our families. Governments of different philosophical outlooks fashion taxation remedies in […]
THE economists got it right again, and up went the interest rates. However this only proves that the Government is dithering and doesn’t want to offend voters. The government has an agenda of buying votes in order to secure its future, and has chosen to do this by flinging money at everything it thinks electors […]
WHAT do you do for an escape from the humdrum of normal life? My “away from it all” has always been fishing. I was introduced to the sport by my father and we spent many weekends in an old rowing boat in Middle Harbour chasing flatties, bream and whatever found its way onto our lines, […]
WRITING this article before I take off on another fishing trip, the on-again, off-again political stalemate that has emerged between the Libs and the Nats is back in the news. One view is that both parties may well be better off going in their own direction in order to concentrate on becoming the primary choice […]
