Australia will go from the prospect of a small surplus to a fourteen billion deficit as it injects money into the economy to ward off a threatened recession. The cause is a pandemic that came roaring out of China and can not be fully contained. It now seems inevitable that it will sweep through the world and be fatal for some people. The good news is that the vast majority will experience something like influenza from which they will recover.
The first fiscal indications are frightening. The world stock market took a beating as investors backed away and prices fell sharply. The huge superannuation industry has its members funds invested wherever it can get the best return and this retreat will lower retirement expectations. If industry is forced to shed workers because of this economic downturn many planned comfortable retirements are at risk.
The government has spread the impact of its relief funds widely. The need to isolate to slow the spread of the virus will impact on most retail business and fifty million dollars will be allocated in grants from two thousand to twenty-five thousand dollars to keep the doors open and survive the downturn. Up to 70,000 eligible employers will be able to claim help to retain apprentice and trainee positions with the government kicking in with wage support.
Importantly, people forced into isolation by the virus who can not fund their current income support obligations will be offered a personal crisis intervention for fourteen days. This will not require a medical certificate unless a further extension is required and help will be forthcoming under youth allowance, sickness allowance or the jobseeker payment system.
Another big initiative is a one off cash payment to welfare recipients. The 6.5 million Australians who receive the aged pension, family tax benefit, youth allowance, Newstart, Austudy, Disability support and carer payments will receive this payment of $750 on March 31. It is imperative that this be spent and not locked away in a savings account.
By putting $750 into the hands of this vast array of people the flow-on to retail premises of individual purchases will help to restore confidence in the business sector. It does not matter where - or how - the money is spent, just so long as it circulates swiftly to achieve the intended outcome.
That is a calculated gamble. Each recipient finds $750 they did not expect to receive in their hands and the are being asked to shed their austerity budgets and spend it in the national interest. It is hoped that most will comply and that amount of money coming into immediate circulation could well be the stimulus that keeps many small business operations from closing their doors.
How the Australian economy fares in the face of this pandemic is now squarely back in the hands of its people !
Saturday, 14 March 2020
Friday, 13 March 2020
Unpaid Superannuation !
The law is quite clear when it comes to the superannuation obligations of employers. Quite independently of the money handed over in pay packets, they are obliged to pay a percentage of that wage into their employees superannuation account where it will draw interest until the day of retirement comes around.
When that doesn't happen, not only is the employee cheated but it is also a law breach that can result in a prison term. The lawmakers have just introduced an unusual amnesty that will allow employers to avoid fines if they admit the breaches that have occurred and make good on the missing money.
That amnesty was first announced in May, 2018 but never made it into law. It got bogged down in the usual political wrangling and thousands of businesses which had taken the promise at face value and admitted the crime were left in limbo.
That will be of great relief to many companies who feared instant retribution from the tax office. The legislation is now in force to allow them to avoid fines if they repay the superannuation owed to their employees, plus a ten percent interest fee for the time it was not earning any interest. That money will need to be paid upfront, or by way of a payment plan.
What is frightening is just how widespread this non payment of the superannuation levy has become. When the amnesty was first announced seven thousand businesses admitted their guilt and it is expected about another seven thousand will put their hand up now that the amnesty has passed into law. In the past five years, 17,000 employers have admitted being liable for unpaid superannuation.
It seems that this superannuation obligation is the first casualty when an employer faces difficulty in making payroll. If sales are down and the money flow is meagre handing over that pay envelope on Thursday takes precedence because without it the employees obligations for rent and food can not be met. The superannuation payment merely becomes at item mentioned on the accompanying pay slip.
Unfortunately, when a business closes its doors and files for bankruptcy one of the prime debts discovered by the receiver is usually money owing to the employees superannuation fund. Even if payment of this receives priority it is doubtful that the employees to which it is owed will ever see even a small percentage repaid.
The fact that parliament is considering an increase in the wage percentage to be paid to superannuation is likely to increase this problem. On any given year a lot of businesses cease trading and go out of business. Whether that omission in paying superannuation is deliberate or caused by lack of cash flow the end result is wage theft.
It will continue to go unchallenged until the wage earner can be conditioned to seriously coordinate with their superannuation fund to ensure that company contributions are up to date - and on time. At present, few employees regularly check on the health of their superannuation fund or raise the issue with their employer.
When that doesn't happen, not only is the employee cheated but it is also a law breach that can result in a prison term. The lawmakers have just introduced an unusual amnesty that will allow employers to avoid fines if they admit the breaches that have occurred and make good on the missing money.
That amnesty was first announced in May, 2018 but never made it into law. It got bogged down in the usual political wrangling and thousands of businesses which had taken the promise at face value and admitted the crime were left in limbo.
That will be of great relief to many companies who feared instant retribution from the tax office. The legislation is now in force to allow them to avoid fines if they repay the superannuation owed to their employees, plus a ten percent interest fee for the time it was not earning any interest. That money will need to be paid upfront, or by way of a payment plan.
What is frightening is just how widespread this non payment of the superannuation levy has become. When the amnesty was first announced seven thousand businesses admitted their guilt and it is expected about another seven thousand will put their hand up now that the amnesty has passed into law. In the past five years, 17,000 employers have admitted being liable for unpaid superannuation.
It seems that this superannuation obligation is the first casualty when an employer faces difficulty in making payroll. If sales are down and the money flow is meagre handing over that pay envelope on Thursday takes precedence because without it the employees obligations for rent and food can not be met. The superannuation payment merely becomes at item mentioned on the accompanying pay slip.
Unfortunately, when a business closes its doors and files for bankruptcy one of the prime debts discovered by the receiver is usually money owing to the employees superannuation fund. Even if payment of this receives priority it is doubtful that the employees to which it is owed will ever see even a small percentage repaid.
The fact that parliament is considering an increase in the wage percentage to be paid to superannuation is likely to increase this problem. On any given year a lot of businesses cease trading and go out of business. Whether that omission in paying superannuation is deliberate or caused by lack of cash flow the end result is wage theft.
It will continue to go unchallenged until the wage earner can be conditioned to seriously coordinate with their superannuation fund to ensure that company contributions are up to date - and on time. At present, few employees regularly check on the health of their superannuation fund or raise the issue with their employer.
Thursday, 12 March 2020
Defining a Doubtful Crime !
Two star Rugby League players have been stood down indefinitely by their club for what is described as a " breach of the player's code of conduct ". It is alleged that when the team played a match at Port Macquarie they had consensual sex with high school girls after the game.
There seems little doubt that this matter will be contentious because no laws were broken. The age of consent in New South Wales is sixteen and having attained that age having sex is entirely a decision for the people concerned of both genders.
In this case, the emotive words seem to be " school girls ". The law comes down hard on a school teacher having sex with students under his or her control and attaining the age of consent is not a condoning factor. It is not suggested that these girls were in school uniform at the time they made contact with the League players and it is usual for fans of both genders to congregate and make contact with players after the game.
In the music world, what are termed " groupies " follow successful bands and go to great lengths to establish intimate contact. Sex is usually freely on offer and girls boast of their success with a favoured artist. It would not be unusual for a similar outlook to condition contact with players who had attained fame on the sporting field.
So - once again we have sex rearing its ugly head. Rugby League has been constantly damaged by player behaviour off the field and this has involved drunken behaviour and sometimes even complaints of rape. The League has cracked down hard. Now just drawing adverse publicity can result in player suspension and that is exactly what has transpired as a result of this Port Macquarie incident.
Now we are coming to the defense stage and it is expected that the players will; demand the suspension be lifted. A century earlier attitudes to sex were vastly more moralistic, but in todays world it has become a rite of social intercourse that is often taken for granted. The invention of the " pill " removed the threat of maternity and sexual freedom became a subject dragged screaming into the public domain.
There is now nothing unusual about girls still going to school having sex. Interestingly, it is not their parents complaining and the only litigant seems to be the Rugby League officials. In these circumstances, this seems to be a case of " much ado about nothing " !
There seems little doubt that this matter will be contentious because no laws were broken. The age of consent in New South Wales is sixteen and having attained that age having sex is entirely a decision for the people concerned of both genders.
In this case, the emotive words seem to be " school girls ". The law comes down hard on a school teacher having sex with students under his or her control and attaining the age of consent is not a condoning factor. It is not suggested that these girls were in school uniform at the time they made contact with the League players and it is usual for fans of both genders to congregate and make contact with players after the game.
In the music world, what are termed " groupies " follow successful bands and go to great lengths to establish intimate contact. Sex is usually freely on offer and girls boast of their success with a favoured artist. It would not be unusual for a similar outlook to condition contact with players who had attained fame on the sporting field.
So - once again we have sex rearing its ugly head. Rugby League has been constantly damaged by player behaviour off the field and this has involved drunken behaviour and sometimes even complaints of rape. The League has cracked down hard. Now just drawing adverse publicity can result in player suspension and that is exactly what has transpired as a result of this Port Macquarie incident.
Now we are coming to the defense stage and it is expected that the players will; demand the suspension be lifted. A century earlier attitudes to sex were vastly more moralistic, but in todays world it has become a rite of social intercourse that is often taken for granted. The invention of the " pill " removed the threat of maternity and sexual freedom became a subject dragged screaming into the public domain.
There is now nothing unusual about girls still going to school having sex. Interestingly, it is not their parents complaining and the only litigant seems to be the Rugby League officials. In these circumstances, this seems to be a case of " much ado about nothing " !
Wednesday, 11 March 2020
Surviving Covid-19 !
ACTU Secretary Sally McManus raises a valid point when she refers to the 3.3 million Australian workers who fall under the " casual " designate in describing their employment status. They are not entitled to either annual leave or sick leave and the isolation need of this coming pandemic leaves them in economic peril.
It is essential that those who show signs of infection do not needlessly spread the disease by continuing to work and when the income stops this lower paid segment of the workforce will not be able to keep paying their bills. Those renting will quickly face a housing crisis and few have cash savings that can tide them over a period of income loss.
There is also the aspect of keeping the nation's essential services running. Food and pharmaceutical manufacturing needs to keep working to supply the nation's needs and another necessary essential is the transport system. We need a degree of flexibility to ensure that enough healthy members of the workforce can fill gaps where these become necessary.
The giant Uber company has made an early response with an announcement that it will provide fourteen day "compensation " to drivers who need to isolate themselves due to the virus. It is hoped that industry generally will make a similar approach to see the nation through this crisis.
The economic community is looking to the Federal government for the obvious lead that would involve providing " Newstart " as a temporary relief for those who would need isolation because of the virus. Basically, Newstart is just another word for the " dole " and it would certainly be appropriate to shield those temporarily removed from the workforce by Covid-19.
The problem is that Newstart has not been updated in line with inflation for years and now falls far short of a living wage. There are calls for it to be increased by nearly a hundred extra dollars a week but this is being resisted on the grounds that it would make unemployment too attractive to those seeking to avoid the responsibilities that go with a permanent job of work.
There is no doubt that this coming Pandemic has thrust as unwelcome strain on the national economy. All hope of delivering a surplus has been removed from economic thinking and the government will need to increase borrowings to stimulate the economy. The unknown factor is - to what degree and for how long ?
It is essential that those who show signs of infection do not needlessly spread the disease by continuing to work and when the income stops this lower paid segment of the workforce will not be able to keep paying their bills. Those renting will quickly face a housing crisis and few have cash savings that can tide them over a period of income loss.
There is also the aspect of keeping the nation's essential services running. Food and pharmaceutical manufacturing needs to keep working to supply the nation's needs and another necessary essential is the transport system. We need a degree of flexibility to ensure that enough healthy members of the workforce can fill gaps where these become necessary.
The giant Uber company has made an early response with an announcement that it will provide fourteen day "compensation " to drivers who need to isolate themselves due to the virus. It is hoped that industry generally will make a similar approach to see the nation through this crisis.
The economic community is looking to the Federal government for the obvious lead that would involve providing " Newstart " as a temporary relief for those who would need isolation because of the virus. Basically, Newstart is just another word for the " dole " and it would certainly be appropriate to shield those temporarily removed from the workforce by Covid-19.
The problem is that Newstart has not been updated in line with inflation for years and now falls far short of a living wage. There are calls for it to be increased by nearly a hundred extra dollars a week but this is being resisted on the grounds that it would make unemployment too attractive to those seeking to avoid the responsibilities that go with a permanent job of work.
There is no doubt that this coming Pandemic has thrust as unwelcome strain on the national economy. All hope of delivering a surplus has been removed from economic thinking and the government will need to increase borrowings to stimulate the economy. The unknown factor is - to what degree and for how long ?
Tuesday, 10 March 2020
Bushfire Road Recovery
This Christmas and New Year Australia suffered a bushfire emergency that impacted the south coast from Batemans Bay to near Melbourne in Victoria. Many homes burned to the ground and lives were lost. A vast army of volunteers from the Rural Fire Services fought the fires for weeks until they were reinforced by members of the armed services. In some areas, residents were forced to wade into the sea when the fires burned to the waters edge and navy ships were urgently despatched to effect rescues.
The Princes Highway is the direct connection between Sydney and Melbourne by way of the east coast of Australia. It is mostly a single lane each way and during the fires great stretches were overwhelmed by flames and closed to traffic. Welcome rain has now eased the fire threat and the highway is open again, but there is a vast difference in the remedial action taken by the two state governments. This would have been very apparent to any Sydney motorists taking the highway to visit the motorbike races at Phillip Island in Victoria over the March weekend.
For the first time, this blog carries pictures. The top picture shows the Princes Highway in a section of New South Wales where it was impacted by fire. Trees damaged by fire and in danger of falling have been removed, but that seems to be the extent of the restoration. Massive trees are still as close as a metre from the edge of the carriageway, providing the danger that is the outcome in all too many motoring accidents.
The lower picture shows the Princes Highway in Victoria. The tree line has been withdrawn two hundred yards from each side of the highway and the sight line has improved. Oncoming traffic is no longer hidden by trees masking a bend in the road and the light factor has sharply improved. This is the standard which should be applied to all traffic roadways in this country.
The Victorians have achieved this with admirable forethought. The trees that were removed were valuable commodities and as each tree was cut down the bark and branches were removed and the trunk was sold to the sawmilling industry. The trees removed in the interest of highway safety simply replaced trees that would otherwise be lost to fulfil housing needs for timber.
There is no doubt that this Victorian initiative has increased highway safety. How often do we see an accident report that contains the words " the car ran off the road and crashed into a tree " ? On too many roads the carriageway is lined with trees that would stop a Sherman tank in its tracks. The safety issue of setting back the tree line by two hundred yards is obvious.
An example has been set and it is now important that the motoring public insist that this standard be applied, not only to safeguard the road system against the fires we know will be generated by global warming, but to introduce a safety factor to save lives.
Monday, 9 March 2020
Bummff !
How extraordinary that with the threat of a Pandemic we have thousands of panic stricken people rushing the supermarkets and pulling reams of toilet paper off the shelves. Some households will have enough bummff on hand to last them well into the next year.
This Coronavirus is really influenza on steroids and has very little to do with the patients rear end. The vast majority of people recover and every year the conventional flu season causes a number of deaths. It is more important that the medication used to combat flu be available in the quantities needed and not lapse into short supply.
Perhaps now is a good time to review the long history of toilet paper use in Australia. In those far distant days when the nation was unsewered and the "nightsoil collector " took the pan away every week it was common practice to nail a merchants catalogue to a stud in the outhouse wall. It was thought a lot of sales occurred from people reading a page of the catalogue as they sat and awaited its use and the merchants were given credit for the softness of the paper used. Few high gloss catalogues made the cut.
When the sewer connection arrived it was very different. There was a need for paper that dissolved and didn't clog the sewer and this resulted in a great new industry. Hundreds of millions of trees are felled and used each year to produce the toilet paper consumed by the nation. A giant section of the advertising industry extolls its virtue.
Sadly, preferences have changed and many people are now using what are referred to as " wet wipes " and these do not dissolve and tend to cause costly blockages. Perhaps this toilet paper stockpile panic will be a blessing because it will revert people back to using the stuff that dissolves. It is noticeable that this buying panic did not extend to wet wipes.
It is interesting to compare toilet habits here with the rest of the world. In France toilet paper has been replaced with the bidet. A French bathroom is not complete unless there is a bidet alongside the conventional toilet. It brings a certain elegance that only the French could add to conventional bathroom etiquette.
It is said that India is a country that lacks toilets. Its citizens use the great outdoors and back in the days when the British ran India is was common for them to be disparaged as " the people who have not yet learned to wash their bottoms ". In India, the citizenry carry a little water and other necessities for just that purpose.
In Japan this function has degenerated into toilets that combine the benefits of the bidet in the one smooth operation, and the cost can run into many thousands of dollars. Users complain that like most electronic marvels the operating instructions are confusing. Pushing the wrong button can have unfortunate consequences and they are yet to gain wide acceptance into private homes.
Now that it is likely that most Australian homes have a vast stockpile of toilet paper it is a matter of waiting to see if our toilet habits change. It could be said that we have all eventualities covered !
This Coronavirus is really influenza on steroids and has very little to do with the patients rear end. The vast majority of people recover and every year the conventional flu season causes a number of deaths. It is more important that the medication used to combat flu be available in the quantities needed and not lapse into short supply.
Perhaps now is a good time to review the long history of toilet paper use in Australia. In those far distant days when the nation was unsewered and the "nightsoil collector " took the pan away every week it was common practice to nail a merchants catalogue to a stud in the outhouse wall. It was thought a lot of sales occurred from people reading a page of the catalogue as they sat and awaited its use and the merchants were given credit for the softness of the paper used. Few high gloss catalogues made the cut.
When the sewer connection arrived it was very different. There was a need for paper that dissolved and didn't clog the sewer and this resulted in a great new industry. Hundreds of millions of trees are felled and used each year to produce the toilet paper consumed by the nation. A giant section of the advertising industry extolls its virtue.
Sadly, preferences have changed and many people are now using what are referred to as " wet wipes " and these do not dissolve and tend to cause costly blockages. Perhaps this toilet paper stockpile panic will be a blessing because it will revert people back to using the stuff that dissolves. It is noticeable that this buying panic did not extend to wet wipes.
It is interesting to compare toilet habits here with the rest of the world. In France toilet paper has been replaced with the bidet. A French bathroom is not complete unless there is a bidet alongside the conventional toilet. It brings a certain elegance that only the French could add to conventional bathroom etiquette.
It is said that India is a country that lacks toilets. Its citizens use the great outdoors and back in the days when the British ran India is was common for them to be disparaged as " the people who have not yet learned to wash their bottoms ". In India, the citizenry carry a little water and other necessities for just that purpose.
In Japan this function has degenerated into toilets that combine the benefits of the bidet in the one smooth operation, and the cost can run into many thousands of dollars. Users complain that like most electronic marvels the operating instructions are confusing. Pushing the wrong button can have unfortunate consequences and they are yet to gain wide acceptance into private homes.
Now that it is likely that most Australian homes have a vast stockpile of toilet paper it is a matter of waiting to see if our toilet habits change. It could be said that we have all eventualities covered !
Sunday, 8 March 2020
A Timely Warning !
Pharmaceutical products giant Johnson and Johnson has been ordered to pay $2.6 million in damages to three Australian women who suffered injuries from one of its products. This opens the door for a massive class action because Johnson and Johnson manufactures the leading mesh product that is widely used to combat urinary stress incontinence or pelvic organ prolapse, both of which can occur after child birth.
The problem is this product carries no warning that it can cause serious complications, and that these include chronic pain, infections and damage to surrounding organs. Because the product carried no warnings a mass of Australian women are involved in a class action and the court having found in their favour there is now the expectation that compensation will be widely awarded.
This week the Federal court followed up on its ruling by ordering Johnson and Johnson and its affiliates to provide patient information leaflets and similar information on promotional material if it continues to sell its products in Australia after March 20.
The terms of this court ordered warning include that the products are " designed to and will " elicit an acute inflammatory response for as long as the implants remain in the patient's body. In some cases, they will cause " adverse effects ".
How adverse the outcome of using this product will be seems to be a matter of luck. Some women find the relief balanced against the discomfort caused, but others have been forced to seek surgical removal. The class action was against nine such products and five of these are no longer available on the Australian market.
This outcome is a timely warning to the entire pharmaceutical industry. All too often the profit motive has induced companies to rush a new product to market before the long term adverse effects of its use have been known. It is usually promoted to the doctors who will prescribe it to their patients as being entirely safe and the adverse effects only become known over a period of time. At the time of release, this seemed a very reasonable response to what was a condition that would seriously restrict a woman's lifestyle.
It seems there is a fortune out there waiting for a company that can find an answer to this debilitating condition and which is virtually free of adverse side effects. They just need to be sure that their product comes with adequate warnings. Leaving the outcome to chance is no longer a viable option.
The problem is this product carries no warning that it can cause serious complications, and that these include chronic pain, infections and damage to surrounding organs. Because the product carried no warnings a mass of Australian women are involved in a class action and the court having found in their favour there is now the expectation that compensation will be widely awarded.
This week the Federal court followed up on its ruling by ordering Johnson and Johnson and its affiliates to provide patient information leaflets and similar information on promotional material if it continues to sell its products in Australia after March 20.
The terms of this court ordered warning include that the products are " designed to and will " elicit an acute inflammatory response for as long as the implants remain in the patient's body. In some cases, they will cause " adverse effects ".
How adverse the outcome of using this product will be seems to be a matter of luck. Some women find the relief balanced against the discomfort caused, but others have been forced to seek surgical removal. The class action was against nine such products and five of these are no longer available on the Australian market.
This outcome is a timely warning to the entire pharmaceutical industry. All too often the profit motive has induced companies to rush a new product to market before the long term adverse effects of its use have been known. It is usually promoted to the doctors who will prescribe it to their patients as being entirely safe and the adverse effects only become known over a period of time. At the time of release, this seemed a very reasonable response to what was a condition that would seriously restrict a woman's lifestyle.
It seems there is a fortune out there waiting for a company that can find an answer to this debilitating condition and which is virtually free of adverse side effects. They just need to be sure that their product comes with adequate warnings. Leaving the outcome to chance is no longer a viable option.
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