Tuesday 20 March 2018
Australia Post-Port Arthur Massacre
Twenty years after the
Port Arthur Massacre when a lone gunman killed 35 people and wounded 23 more…….
The
Conversation,
27 April 2016:
The 1996 firearm laws
were immediately followed by a
buying spree, as banned rapid-fire rifles and shotguns were replaced with
freshly imported single-shot firearms.
By 1999, civilian gun
imports had dropped to a record low. And most gun dealers closed their doors.
In the years that
followed, gun-buying climbed steadily to new heights. By 2015, the arms trade
had broken
all previous records. Last financial year Australia imported 104,000
firearms.
The million
guns destroyed after Port Arthur have been replaced with 1,026,000 new
ones. And the surge only shows upward momentum.
Twenty-one years after……
News.com.au, 12 October 2017:
THERE is a major
“loophole” in Australia’s gun laws which allows for private arsenals with
hundreds of guns and owners to “buy their first ... or 310th gun”.
Tighter restrictions on
gun ownership — including a compulsory requirement to show “genuine reason” for
owning each firearm — were introduced in 1996 following the Port Arthur
massacre.
But the number of
weapons that can be owned by an individual have since been weakened in various
states and are not exclusively capped.
NSW Greens spokesman
David Shoebridge said “a loophole in NSW’s gun laws allows private individuals
to use the same reason to buy their 1st, 10th or 310th gun” and that Australia
faces another mass shooting if the national approach to gun control isn’t
tightened.
“A 20-year review of gun
laws enacted after the Port Arthur Massacre in 1996 did not even look at
capping the number of guns that can be owned by one individual,” he said.
“We are seeing private
arsenals being built up in our major capital cities ...(and) suburbia.”
NSW Police figures for
private firearm ownership obtained under the Freedom of Information Act show
there are 31 private arsenals across Sydney with 73 to 305 guns each.
“Of the top 100 private
arsenals with the most guns, 31 are in Sydney,” Mr Shoebridge said.
“These gun owners are
not collectors or arms dealers but private individuals who have been allowed to
amass private arsenals.
“It is inevitable that
some of these private arsenals with end up in the hands of criminals.
“This really isn’t a
question of mere politics it is a question of life and death.”
Almost 22 years later……
ABC
News, 1 March
2018:
Thousands of automatic
rifles, handguns and a rocket launcher are among the weapons handed in during
last year's National Firearms Amnesty.
The final results,
released today, show 57,324 firearms were handed in between July and September
across Australia to be registered or destroyed.
Authorities received
around 2,500 fully-automatic or semi-automatic guns that were previously
unaccounted for, and 2,900 handguns.
The rocket launcher was
handed in to a licensed firearms dealer in Queensland, who believes it was once
recovered at a local tip.
New South Wales received
the highest number of firearms at 24,831, followed by Queensland on 16,375.
Victorians handed in 9,175 guns.
Almost a third of the
weapons were destroyed, with the rest either registered and handed back, or
passed on to a licensed dealer for resale.
Federal Minister for Law
Enforcement Angus Taylor said the weapons were no longer on the "grey
market", which refers to guns that are not registered and not in the hands
of criminals.
"It's critical to
get them off this grey market … so they don't end up in the black market,"
he said.
Despite the evidence
before his eyes Home Affairs tsar Peter Dutton is apparently considering
expanding the political power of the Australian gun lobby – à la U.S. National Rifle
Association……
The
Guardian, 15
March 2018:
The home affairs
minister, Peter
Dutton, is considering establishing a committee to allow gun importers to
review proposed changes to firearm regulations for “appropriateness and
intent”.
Following a meeting with
a pro-gun lobbyist in February, Dutton is weighing up whether to establish a
so-called “firearms advisory council”, which the gun lobby says would give it
“a seat at the table” to advise the government on firearms policy.
Last month Dutton met
with officials from Nioa, one of Australia’s largest gun dealers, and members
of the shooting lobby to discuss the council.
Nioa is run by Robert
Nioa, a major political donor to his father-in-law, the federal MP Bob Katter.
He is also a director of the firearms industry lobbying group Shooting Industry
Foundation of Australia, or Sifa.
Sifa’s other directors
include the general manager of Winchester Australia, Clive Pugh and the
managing director of Beretta Australia, Luca Scribani Rossi.
The group donated
to Liberal and National MPs in the lead-up to the 2016 federal
election and pumped hundreds of thousands of dollars into a campaign that helped
minor rightwing parties gain votes in last year’s Queensland state
election.
Held at Nioa’s company
headquarters in Brisbane, the meeting was attended by Laura Patterson, Sifa’s
communications and research officer, and Nioa official David Briggs.
Robert Nioa was not at the meeting.
In a video posted by
Sifa on social media, Patterson said the meeting was aimed at “formalising” the
establishment of a “firearms advisory council”.
In the video, which
included an image of the department’s logo, Patterson said the council would
“establish a mechanism for expert government to industry consultation” and
would allow Sifa to “review proposed regulatory changes for efficiency,
appropriateness and intent”.
BACKGROUND
Australian Government, Australian
Institute of Health and Welfare, 2017:
Rates of firearm-related
injuries for both hospitalised cases and deaths fell between 1999–00 and
2005–06 from a starting rate of 2 cases per 100,000 population to 1.5 per
100,000 for hospitalised cases and 1 per 100,000 for deaths in 2013–14 (Figure
6).
Rates for hospitalised
cases were relatively steady from 2005–06 onwards, while rates for deaths
continued to fall:
* The fall in rates for
hospitalised cases in the early part of the period was mainly attributable to a
decline in unintentional cases, from 221 to 105, between 1999–00 and 2005–06.
* The fall in rates for
deaths over the entire period was mainly attributable to a decline in
intentional self-harm (suicide) cases, from 236 to 166, between 1999–00 and
2012–13.
The rate of firearm
suicide by males was about 6 to 7 per 100,000 population annually for about 30
years, to the late 1980s.
The rate then declined
to less than 1 per 100,000 by 2011 (Figure 7). A similar pattern was seen for
females, although rates were much lower.
Monday 19 March 2018
Trump brings out the knives in his effort to derail the FBI-Mueller investigation into Russian involvment in his presidential campaign
What occurred.....
Andrew McCabe became acting head of the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) after the sudden firing of James B. Comey on 9 May 2017 and, as acting head gave evidence before a US Senate committee in which he contradicted the WhiteHouse’s assertion that James B. Comey, the F.B.I. director fired by PresidentTrump...had lost the support of rank-and-file F.B.I. agents.
US President Donald Trump's reaction was hostile across multiple tweets over the following months and he implied that McCabe might be fired before he could retire.
On 15 March 2018 The New York Times reported:
WASHINGTON — The special
counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, has subpoenaed the Trump Organization in recent
weeks to turn over documents, including some related to Russia, according to
two people briefed on the matter. The order is the first known instance of the
special counsel demanding records directly related to President Trump’s
businesses, bringing the investigation closer to the president.
Following hard on the heels of the Comey firing Mueller had been appointed to conduct an investigation into Russian links to Trump's 2015- 2016 presidential campaign.
Former FBI deputy director Andy McCabe was fired Friday from
the federal government, just two days before he was set to retire, Attorney
General Jeff Sessions announced in a statement late Friday
night.
Nearly 24 hours earlier,
McCabe was inside the Justice Department making the case to keep his job
until Sunday when he officially qualifies for retirement benefits. His firing
means his full pension — built after nearly 22 years in government — is in
jeopardy.
After formal announcement of the McCabe sacking Trump tweeted this:
After formal announcement of the McCabe sacking Trump tweeted this:
That Trump's move against McCabe is a step on the road to firing Special Counsel Robert Mueller might be inferred from the Dowd quote below.
According to The
Daily Beast on 17 March
2018:
“I pray that Acting
Attorney General Rosenstein will follow the brilliant and courageous example of
the FBI Office of Professional Responsibility and Attorney General Jeff
Sessions and bring an end to alleged Russia Collusion investigation
manufactured by McCabe’s boss James Comey based upon a fraudulent and corrupt
Dossier,” Dowd then wrote.
He told The Daily Beast
he was speaking on behalf of the president, in his capacity as the president’s
attorney.
McCabe's response.....
Labels:
corruption,
Donald Trump,
elections,
FBI,
intelligence,
US-Russia relations
A year ago the Turnbull Cabinet decided to elevate "a fascist like Peter Dutton"
This is Peter Craig Dutton, Australian Minister for Home Affairs, Minister for Immigration and Border Protection, millionaire property speculator, alleged closet racist and former Queensland police officer.
Twelve months ago government and national intelligence circles were unhappy about his elevation to powerful Tsar.
#BREAKING: @samanthamaiden says ASIO and AFP have advised the govt against a US-style Homeland Security dept. MORE: https://t.co/I0gFX56acx pic.twitter.com/WVbjQZUlTB— Sky News Australia (@SkyNewsAust) March 7, 2017
Dutton's portfolios are now under audit and review as they merge and grow.
BuzzFeed, 12 March 2018:
The new super agency
created by home affairs minister Peter Dutton is facing unprecedented
government scrutiny, amid a series of audits and reviews into visa arrangements
and anti-corruption measures.
The federal government
merged a large number of Australian government agencies into one super agency
headed by Dutton earlier this year.
In an unprecedented
government initiative, Dutton is overseeing more than 13,000 staff across the
immigration department, Australian Border Force (ABF), Australian Federal
Police, Australian Crime and Intelligence Commission, Austrac and the
Australian Security Intelligence Organisation.
The agency is absorbing
a range of functions from the attorney-general's department, the department of
infrastructure and the prime minister's department, and will have a total
budget of more than $2 billion.
The arrangement was
particularly controversial because there was no recommendation to actually
create the agency; its establishment rests on the contested assumption that
centralising these government agencies will ensure greater efficiency across
immigration, law enforcement and other government areas.
But the new agency is
now facing unprecedented scrutiny as home affairs secretary Michael Pezzullo
grapples with how to bring disparate government entities under the umbrella of
a single agency.
The Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) is currently undertaking
three separate audits into the integration of the immigration department and
customs, the efficiency of visa processing and personnel security risks.
It is currently
considering an additional six audits into staff integrity measures, payment
standards, cape class patron vessel support, intelligence operations,
collection of visa revenue and the tourist refund scheme.
Previous ANAO reports
have scrutinised the immigration department's detention contracting
arrangements and found them to have serious flaws. One review into contracting
on Nauru and Manus found it spent more than $1 billion without proper approvals, and another
found it failed to oversee healthcare arrangements in
onshore detention centres.
Sunday 18 March 2018
Australian personal investment portfolio profiles reveal a sjgnificant lack of diversification and a fondness for shares
“This is indeed
the wealthiest retired generation ever in Australian history…. Self-funded or
partly self-funded retirees appear to enjoy a significantly higher standard of
living than those who rely on the Aged Pension” [Australian
Centre for Australian Studies, August 2016]
Given the many words
being written on the subject of share dividend imputation and franking credits
here is a broad breakdown of the investment types these people hold.
According to
the Australian Stock Exchange in 2017 there were over 11 million investors
across the country.
Sources of income during retirement
In 2016–17, there were 3.6 million
persons, aged 45 years and over, who reported that they were retired from the
labour force. This group comprised 1.7 million men and 1.9 million women. Just
over half of all retired persons were aged 70 years and over (56% of retired
men and 52% of retired women).
Approx. 49%
of male and 45% of female retirees stated main source of income was 'government
pension/allowance'. In total this represents an est. 1.6 million individuals retired from the labour force.
Approx. 33% of
male and 17% of female retirees stated their main source of income was 'superannuation/annuity/allocated
pension' (37% of females state ‘partners income’ as main source of income). In total this represents an est. 884,000 individuals retired from the labour force.
Est. 30% of
all retirees appeared to be eligible to claim a government part-pension.
Australian retirees (60 years and
older) investment portfolio profile:
68% hold cash
58% hold
shares
26% hold investment property
18% hold
other on-exchange investments.
Retirees on
average expect an 8 per cent return on investment.
Australian all adult (18 years of age
& older) investment portfolio profile:
60% hold
investments
Up to est.
42% hold investment property
31% hold
shares
Up to 25%
hold other on-exchange investments, including derivatives
10% hold
family trusts
15% hold
self-managed super funds (SMSFs), with the majority held by individuals over 45
years of age
Est. 44% of
SMSFs contain shares and over 50% hold cash.
Adult
investors on average expect an 8.2 to 9.2 per cent return on investment.
Only est. 5% of investors borrow money in order to invest.
Only est. 5% of investors borrow money in order to invest.
Overall less than half (46%) of all investment portfolios are diversified to lessen financial risk.
Currently, most investors in Australia are self-directed, choosing to conduct their own research.
[See https://www.asx.com.au/documents/resources/2017-asx-investor-study.pdf
& http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/mf/6238.0]
Excess Franking Credits derived from Share Dividends
The average
annual cash refund for unused franking credits is thought to be in the vicinity
of $5,000 per shareholder, while the average unused credits cashback
payment for people in the top 1% of self-managed super funds is an est. $83,000 a
year.
Social media opinion
A terrific example of the irrational, ill-considered investment "strategy" that the imputation tax rort encourages. People invest on the basis of the rort with no consideration of underlying corporate fundamentals https://t.co/6mswyubE0E— Stephen Koukoulas (@TheKouk) March 15, 2018
Tim Lyons at Revielle
Case Study 1
via @GraemeEtt
It has been pointed out that with income from other sources being $130,000, "Jean" would have income producing assets possibly valued at est. $3.2 million. She appears to own her own home.
Case Study 2 - Stjepan has retired with what appears to be a self-managed super fund. As his fund is in the pension phase he pays $0 tax. He and his wife have a combined annual income of $89,000 and own shares valued at $200,000. He states that he will lose "several thousand dollars a year" if he no longer receives cash back for excess franking credits.
Stepan owns his own home plus a holiday unit.
If this couple's combined income is $89,000 then they would possibly have income producing assets valued at around $1.7 million.
Case Study 3 - "Peter" has a self-managed super fund. As his fund is in pension phase he pays $0 tax. Peter has an income of $60,000 a year. Dividends from his share portfolio see him receiving franking credit cashback payments of over est. $8,000 per annum which he lodges in his SMSF account to grow his balance.
His income producing assets are possibly valued at est. $1.2 million.
Case Study 4 - Margaret and her husband have a self-managed super fund. As their fund is in the pension phase they pay $0 tax. The SMSF appears to solely invest is shares - 85% of which are Telstra and big bank shares.
Currently National Australia Bank shares are worth in the vicinity of $29.51 with an annual dividend yield of 6.71%, Westpac shares are worth in the vicinity of $29.52 with an annual dividend yield of 6.37%, Commonwealth Bank shares are worth in the vicinity of $75.34 with an annual dividend yield of 5.71% and, Telstra shares are worth in the vicinity of $3.35 with an annual dividend yield of 6.8%.
No income is stated but what is asserted is that the abolition of payment for excess franking credits will see their annual income reduced by 30%.
Margaret and her husband own their own waterfront residence in Sydney.
The bottom line is that investors who structured their portfolios to take maximum advantage of excess franking credit cash payments do not appear to have considered the relatively short history of this cash payment scheme or the possibility that a political push might occur to eliminate the 'value' of unused franking credits - given that current owners of these credits who had no tax liability were claiming refunds for tax they had never paid in the first place.
Labels:
investment,
poor investments,
shares,
taxation
Saturday 17 March 2018
Batman By-election (VIC) and South Australian General Election, Saturday 17 March 2018 - tally room links
SA Electoral Commission - South Australian General Election
Virtual Tally Room here - after 6.30pm Sydney time.
ABC Election Coverage 2018 #SAvotes - ABC Radio ADELAIDE ...
Australian Electoral Commission - Batman By-election Victoria
Virtual Tally Room here - counting begins after 6pm.
ABC News 24
Labels:
elections 2018
Quote of the Week
“With no clear
international achievement to his name, his major accomplishment in foreign
policy has been provoking significant global backlash almost across the board.”
[Journalist Andrew Hammond writing about US President Donald J. Trump in The
Sydney Morning Herald, 14 March2018]
Labels:
Donald Trump,
US politics
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