Help for Melbourne’s storm victims

Many families hit by violent storms in Melbourne on Christmas Day will be offered financial assistance.

The Federal Minister for Emergency Management, Robert McClelland, made the announcement.

He said assistance would be provided through the joint Commonwealth and state funded Natural Disaster Relief and Recovery Arrangements.

Those living in  the worst hit areas of western and northern suburbs of Melbourne would be eligible.

“These storms impacted a widespread area across Melbourne and have caused extensive damage to personal property,”  Mr McClelland said.

“They could not have come at a worse time, striking just when many households were looking forward to relaxing on Christmas Day with family and friends,”

Mr McClelland said  the Commonwealth and Victorian governments are committed to helping those hit by the storms.

He said   personal hardship and distress assistance is available, under the joint Commonwealth and State arrangements.

It would include:-

* Emergency Relief Assistance of up to $1,200 to cover emergency shelter, food, clothing, personal items or specific transport needs, and

* Emergency Re-establishment Assistance of up to $30,000 to help eligible households with tasks such as clean-up, emergency accommodation, repairs, rebuilding and replacing some damaged contents.

Mr McClelland said people who had suffered personal hardship and distress should contact their local Victorian Department of Human Services branch or visit www.dhs.vic.gov.au  for further information about assistance.

Related stories:

1. Flood relief money
2. Banks face Storm action

Julia Gillard’s inspirations

The Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, paid tribute today,  both to Australians who never give up and those who are finding new jobs and opportunities.

She gave several examples, as she opened Labor’s national conference in Sydney.

Ms Gillard said she had seen “achievement” reflected in the face of a hard-working woman she had met last month in Melbourne’s west.

“She suffers an acquired brain injury but she’s never been a victim,” the Prime Minister said.

This woman had started a business in her own home – marketing gourmet dog biscuits over the internet!

She is “now selling them to Harrod’s of London for thirty five pounds each,” Ms Gillard said.

This woman’s courage had influenced the government’s decision to lay the foundations for national disability insurance, Ms Gillard said.

This would lead to a fairer future  for two million Australians, people with disabilities and their carers.

“It will be a defining Labor reform,” Ms Gillard said.

The Prime Minister also said she had seen “opportunities reflected in the face of a woman I met in Darwin last year.”

This woman – a cancer survivor  had been worried by a sore leg that wouldn’t heal.

Ms Gillard said the woman is now getting the care she needs, because her dermatologist in Adelaide could examine her leg on a high speed video link on-line.

“That’s why we’re rolling out high speed broadband,” Ms Gillard said.

The Prime Minister said Tasmania  had led the nation in this development,  starting with the replacement of its hundred-year old copper wire network.

“And now this year in Brunswick and Armidale, Townsville and Kiama, the National Broadband Network is an investment in the future which is operating now,” she said.

Ms Gillard said new opportunities are also arising, from what she called “ our clean energy future.”

“I’ve met workers at a Brisbane tip generating power from methane, traditional apprentices with clean technology skills in Brunswick and wind farm technicians in Bungendore.”

Workers at one of our cleanest baseload power stations at Dalby and staff who told me about pioneering technology at Kogan Creek.

“ The faces of the new jobs being created in our clean energy economy,” the Prime Minister said.

Related stories:

1. Julia Gillard’s big week
2. Julia says the word is prudence

Green light for mining tax

The Federal government’s mining tax bills have passed the House of Representatives.

That happened shortly before 3am, after the government reached a deal with the Greens.

The deal gave the government the vote of the lone Green member of the lower house, Adam Bandt.

The bills are now  expected to have a clear passage, when they reach the Senate early next year.

However the Coalition has promised to repeal the tax, if it wins government.

The Federal Treasurer, Wayne Swan, is jubilant.

He says revenue raised by the tax will spread wealth created by the mining boom to the broader community.

The government says it will do that by funding higher superannuation contributions and tax breaks for small business.

An amendment sought by the Tasmanian Independent Andrew Wilkie to exempt smaller mining companies was included in the deal.

The Greens had said they would not pass the bills, unless the shortfall of $20 million a year, that this created, was filled by the mining industry.

However full details of the deal struck by the government and the Greens on this point have yet to emerge.

Related stories:

1. Miners woo Green MHR
2. Mineral tax:Waiting for the Green light

Miners woo Green MHR

A mining chief is urging the Greens politician, Adam Bandt, to block the Federal government’s mining tax.

Simon Bennison, who heads the Association of Mining and Exploration Companies, has called a media briefing to explain his case.

The Federal government needs Mr Bandt to  vote for the tax, to get it through the House of Representatives.

The Greens leader Bob Brown says his party will not support the proposed tax, a key part of the government’s platform, unless miners make up a $20 million a year shortfall, in the amount of revenue it was expected to raise.

The shortfall arises from an exemption, for small miners, that the government accepted, after meeting the Tasmanian Independent, Andrew Wilkie.

The government and the Greens have been talking on this issue today.

Related stories:

1. Mineral tax:Waiting for the Green light
2. She makes the miners an offer

Mineral tax:Waiting for the Green light

The Federal government will negotiate with the Greens today to get its controversial minerals tax through parliament.

The Greens are demanding that changes the government agreed to, with Tasmanian independent Andrew Wilkie, be made revenue neutral.

Mr Wilkie won exemptions for smaller miners, costed at $20 million a year.

Greens leader Bob Brown is insisting that the mining industry itself must make up this shortfall.

The government needs the vote of the Greens member, Adam Bandt, to get its tax through the lower house of parliament.

It is confident of success in these talks.

Its hopes were boosted yesterday when two other independents, Tony Windsor and Rob Oakeshott declared their support.

That followed assurances they had won from the government on rural land management and coal seam gas seam gas developments.

The first two independents declared their position, when they met reporters at parliament house.

The government announced further concessions to Mr Wilkie later.

The Treasurer, Wayne Swan, is describing the  new tax as “a very important measure to spread the benefits of the mining boom right across our whole economy.”

He said it would give small business “a significant tax cut.

“The $6,500 instant asset write-off is a really big benefit to 2.7 million small businesses,” he said.

Mr Swan also said the tax would fund “ a very significant boost to superannuation savings for millions of Australian workers.

“… for a 30 year old it will mean an additional $100,000 at retirement, “ he said.

It would also make extra  money available for infrastructure in critical mining regions.

The measure is being debated in the House of Representatives this week.

The final  vote on it is expected tomorrow.

If it passes this house, as now seems likely, it will be put to the Senate early next year.

Its passage, through the upper house, is assured as the government and the Greens have the numbers there, to get what they want.

Related stories:

1. Why we are waiting
2. Gillard boosted as Wilkie signs up

Australians abandoning their cars

Australians are increasingly leaving their cars at home and catching a bus or train to work.

That way they avoid high fuel costs, traffic snarls and parking headaches.

This trend is confirmed in a new report called the State of Australian Cities 2011.

The report, just published by the Federal government, also shows that Australians are walking and cycling more.

Indeed, we are now buying more bikes than cars.

We bought more than 11.5 million bicycles in the ten years to 2010, but only 9.5 million cars.

The report also confirms that Australian cities need more homes.

“The gap between housing supply and demand is general across Australia – a short fall of 200,000 new homes.

“But is particularly severe in Sydney,” it says.

The senior Federal Minister who released the report, Anthony Albanese, said it gives Australians a better understanding of how their cities work.

Mr Albanese said the Federal government had committed $7.3 billion to modernise and extend Australia’s capital city rail networks.

Related stories:

1. We’re still driven by our cars
2. New credit line suggested for older Australians

Carbon tax bill hits Parliament

The Federal government declared that it could not ignore global warming, as it launched debate on its proposed carbon tax legislation in parliament today.

The Minister for Infrastructure and Transport, Anthony Albanese, said “after decades of debate, the time for talking is over.

“The science is in.

“It’s now time to get this critical reform in place.

“Other nations are already acting.

“They know that in a competitive, globalised 21st century world, successful economies will be those that adapt early to a carbon constrained future.

“Labor is not prepared to ignore the threat, ignore the science and ignore the economists,” Mr Albanese said.

The government has the numbers to get this measure through the House of Representatives, with the support of the Greens and Independent MPs.

The lower house vote, on this bill, is expected tomorrow.

It will then go to the Senate where it is also expected to pass, without trouble.

However the fate of a second bill, designed to put the Federal government’s refugee deal with Malaysia beyond legal doubt, is still far from certain.

Julia Gillard’s minority government will need the support of a West Australian National party MP, Tony Crook, to win a vote in the House of Representatives, for its so-called Malaysia solution.

Mr Crook has still to declare his position.

If the government was to lose this vote, it would be the first government in 80 years, to lose a lower house vote.

This critical vote is expected on Thursday

The Opposition says the government should resign if that happens – a call the government rejects.

Meanwhile, Mr Albanese declared that the government could not ignore global warming.

“ We cannot say it is someone else’s problem.

“We all share the one planet.

“We are all citizens of the world.

“It would simply not be fair to leave it to our children and grandchildren to deal with the consequences of our inaction,” Mr Albanese said.

Related stories:

1. Carbon tax bill introduced
2. New market – and credit – laws to reach Federal Parliament today

Tax:what to expect

Wayne Swan admits that some of the changes that are likely to emerge from the Tax Summit will be hard “to fit into a sound bite.”

However the Treasurer insists that “enough common ground” was found “to support more ambitious (tax) reform.”

That is, he said, on top of the 32 reforms the government has already announced.

These assurances won’t silence the sceptics, whose number, of course, includes Tony Abbott.

The Opposition Leader has called the whole event a “talkfest” and a waste of time.

So what can we expect?

There was talk, on the final day of the Forum, on closing tax loopholes and making Tax Office language simpler and easier to understand.

Those, predictable, ideas remained a bit fuzzy.

Mr Swan said there had been “more of a consensus” on targeted measures, to help companies that are struggling in today’s “patchwork economy.”

“It came down to the question some people raised about whether company rate relief is best as one big hit or in a more targeted way,” the Treasurer said.

“And whether a more targeted tax cut suggested by some people in their comments means we can afford to then treat losses differently.

He said several delegates had spoken of the way losses might be treated, in the tax system.

“There is common ground and we need a way to take things forward,” Mr Swan said.

This seems to be the most likely area, in which changes might appear.

The government set up a business tax working group, to recommend action.

Mr Swan said the second priority would be to look at options for longer term business tax reform.

The government is also asking Treasury and the Tax Office to “put their heads together” with small business, to find ways to reduce the complexity of small business taxation.

Mr Swan’s closing statement is reproduced below, in full:-

Can I begin by asking you to join me in recognising all of the committed people who made the forum run so smoothly
Can I single out the staff in particular, and our facilitators Michael and Paul, and can I thank you all for your contributions
The Government is delighted with how this forum has gone
I’m proud of the discussions we’ve just had – just as wide-ranging, open and constructive as I hoped it would be when we began
We proved we have the capacity for a mature, forward-looking policy debate – and proved some critics wrong in the process
I’m heartened that the fundamentals of our existing reform program have found a lot of support in this room and we’re on the right track
It’s true we’ve had some disagreements – some areas clearly don’t have consensus and need further discussion
But the real tribute to you here is the fact we’ve been able to nut out some difficult issues along the way
We will draw on the priorities identified over the last two days, as the building blocks for the next stage of ongoing tax reform
Let me run through some of those now as we wrap things up …
 
BUSINESS TAX
 
The business tax discussion was dominated by ideas about how to respond to the  pressures of a patchwork economy
There are different views on an across-the-board company tax cut.
The Henry Review recommended a cut from 30 to 25
Some, such as the Australian Industry Group and the Business Council argue in favour of that;
Others, such as the ACTU and Australian Council of Social Services argue against;
And a number of people have noted that the company tax rate doesn’t matter so much for small business
But there seemed to be more of a consensus on more targeted measures to help struggling businesses
It came down to the question some people raised about whether company rate relief is best as one big hit or in a more targeted way
And whether a more targeted tax cut suggested by some people in their comments means we can afford to then treat losses differently
Losses were raised by people like Heather Ridout, Teresa Dyson, Frank Drenth, Alf Capito and Ken Henry
There is common ground and we need a way to take things forward
So I have asked Chris Jordan to chair a business tax reform working group – and I thank him for agreeing
It will include business leaders, tax experts, unions, and will be supported by Treasury
It will look at business tax responses to a patchwork economy, and how to fund them
In these times of patchwork pressures, more than ever, business needs the flexibility to make the leaps of imagination and inventiveness that have always made our country strong.
We want to act on these ideas as soon as we responsibly can
That’s why the first priority is to identify options for losses and options for savings to fund them
It will provide an initial report in November, and a final report by March next year
We need to consider things like loss carry back, uplifting losses, and what happens to the value of losses when business change composition or ownership.
The working group should also identify ways to fund these ideas, from business tax
AIG, the AWU and Saul Eslake all talked about whether we target the company rate cut a bit better and ACOSS talked about opportunities for companies to shift profits offshore
These aren’t the only options, there are lots of others
The second priority is to look at longer term company tax options, and report during 2012
This should look at broader questions of working up if and how an equity allowance could work
And it should compare these ideas to changing company tax rates as a longer term direction
Of course, it will also need to look at savings options to fund any ideas here too, from the business tax bucket
SMALL BUSINESS
 
We’ve also heard loud and clear small business concerns about complexity
The instant write-off will simplify and cut tax for small business from next year
We introduced it, we increased it to $6,500 and we will take any opportunity to take it further
Standard business reporting and the superannuation clearing house also reduce some of the burden
But I’ve asked Treasury and the ATO to put their heads together with the Council for Small Business to identify the best ways to reduce complexity, in the coming months.
 
STATES
 
Next was state tax reform – and this was probably the most passionate discussion at the forum
Remember Michael Pascoe couldn’t find one person out of 200 to put their hand up to support state insurance taxes?
And not even the states think their own state taxes are any good
Their stamp duties harm labour mobility and housing affordability;
their insurance taxes discourage people at risk from taking out insurance;
And their payroll taxes, with their inefficient structures, may  hinder employment.
Unsurprisingly, there’s less agreement on who should fund reform
The States want access to Commonwealth income tax because they say they can’t fund their own expenditure.
But many people at this forum said that some state tax bases are inherently good and they could go a long way to funding themselves if they reformed them, by themselves.
It’s clear we’re not going to solve state taxes here, even with all this goodwill
I thank Mike Baird and Andrew Fraser for agreeing to work with the Council of Australian Federation to develop a state tax reform plan, for further discussion with the Commonwealth
The Council will develop the plan; we will all discuss it at treasurers level; then we’ll take it to COAG for agreement and implementation.
This state tax reform plan needs to be feasible; it needs to be practical but it must also be genuine reform
I want the first iteration by the end of 2012, including a clear timetable for harmonisation and additional steps beyond that.
As we have said, we won’t be funding state tax reform through an increased GST, or through a state income tax levy
This would not give the states the right incentives to reform their own taxes and what’s worse, it would hit families.
And we can’t argue for a simpler system then multiply the number of income tax scales by eight
In this context, it’s also important to remember the significant additional investment this government has made in social services delivered by states and territories – education, disability, social housing and not least health.
Under the government’s historic health reforms, the Commonwealth will pay half of every new dollar of spending on hospitals – a radical departure from current arrangements.
As a result, the Australian Government will invest an extra $175 billion in state the public hospital system from now and until the end of the next decade. 
That’s $175 billion which states otherwise would have had to raise using their existing revenue base.
I’ve also asked John Brumby’s team to consider some of the forum’s comments about the GST formula, in his distribution review
We heard a number of comments about how the GST formula can affect the incentive for states to reform their taxes
But like Lara, I’m a long-time supporter of equalisation so I want the best combination of fairness and reform incentives.
 
PERSONAL TAX AND TRANSFERS
 
Let me turn to personal tax and transfers now
They were two different sessions today but people who know me know I’ve always seen them as two parts of the one whole
The core of our policy is to reward hard work, especially for people making the transition in to work
A few months ago, we announced that we would triple the tax free threshold from $6,000 to $18,200 on 1 July next year.
This is a massive reform that will reward hard work, improve the interaction between tax and transfers
Our first priority in further personal tax reform will be to increase the tax-free threshold further, to at least $21,000, and remove the Low Income Tax Offset entirely
Lifting the tax-free threshold to $18,200 will free up to a million taxpayers from having to fill in a tax reform. 
Lifting it further to $21,000 would push this to well over a million.
It would mean better rewards for work, which would mean more Australians in work.
But consistent with all we do, we need to make sure that the country can afford it before we set the timeline.
The discussion has not just been about tax cuts.
Many participants have suggested some of the tougher ideas, things that close what they see as tax loopholes
For example, Tim Lyons’ comments on the Living Away From Home Allowance are definitely worth exploring
Of course, there’s no agreed definition of a loophole
But I thank all participants who were prepared to take up the challenge and identify ways to fund proposals
This isn’t about creating scapegoats or class warfare
It’s about making sure our tax system is as effective as it can be, and that means identifying and fixing any current leakages
We’ve had such a broad and rich discussion of personal tax and transfers, that I could not possibly do it all justice in this short talk.
So let me briefly run touch on a number of things we will also progress
We’re implementing important participation reforms, announced in the 2011-12 Budget
Implementing this is our priority, but going forward I would welcome a more detailed discussion about what are the best next steps
We’re busy implementing important superannuation reforms, increasing the super guarantee, making concessions fairer, and of course MySuper
But Bill Shorten and I also heard the discussion about drawdown phase options like annuities and deferred annuities and we will put more thought into this issue
We are committed to supporting the not for profit sector, but I’ve also heard voices say we could deliver support more effectively
So I want the Not-For-Profit Reform Council to extend its work to look at ways to support the sector more effectively,
Bill and Tanya will be involved, and consultation with the broad and diverse sector will be critical
We’re acting in personal tax simplification, expanding pre-filling, delivering a standard deduction and tripling the tax free threshold
But we will look to do more to make it simple enough for more people to do their tax themselves if they want
 
GOVERNANCE
 
Bill talked about a number of good ideas for tax system governance earlier, and I don’t intend to repeat them here
But I will reiterate that I understand the benefits of developing a more comprehensive and transparent tax law design process
I’ve also heard the voices call for more tax and transfer system research, to support more evidence based policy development
This didn’t just come from academics but right around the room
So we will contribute around $1 million per year to create an independent Tax Studies Institute, as a centre for research excellence, linked to our universities
The institute will look at things like the design and simplification of the tax-transfer system
Because the tax system affects all Australians, the institute will accept tax deductible funding donations
And because the tax system affects all governments, I will welcome state government contributions
 
CONCLUSION
 
I’ll finish by saying that on top of our 32 existing reforms we’ve found enough common ground to support more ambitious reform
One of the things I’ve enjoyed most about the last two days is the appreciation around the room that reform is hard, but worthwhile
I think you have got a deep appreciation of the choices governments face and I have an appreciation of your trade-offs too
So on that measure – on the tests we set ourselves at the start of this forum, on being constructive – we have passed a critical test
We’ve done it in a way that recognises tax reform’s role in a stronger, fairer, broader, more modern and competitive economy
And because of that we’ve also recognised tax reform doesn’t just have the capacity to improve the lives of some of you, but everyone
Some of the policies we have begun to sketch out together won’t be popular, and many will be difficult to fit into a sound bite
So we need the spirit and commitment to reform we found over the last two days to endure well beyond the forum
That’s the best contribution you and I can make to our country in the months and years ahead
So thank you again for coming, safe trip home, and let’s keep progressing tax reform in the national economic interest
 

Related stories:

1. Expect swift action on maternity leave report
2. What we can expect from the budget