The Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry Chief Executive Mark Stone AM urges Melbourne business owners and directors to enrol to vote for the by-election for Lord Mayor.

To be able to vote you must be enrolled by 4pm Friday, March 16, 2018).
 
“It is important that Melbourne business owners and directors enrol so they can have a voice in the election of the Lord Mayor, a position that is vital to the ongoing wellbeing of this city, and it is vital that business has a strong voice in the future of Melbourne,” Mr Stone said.
 
Mr Stone said it was important to enrol if you own or occupy rateable property within the City of Melbourne but live in a different municipality, or if you were appointed as a corporation voting representative for the 2016 council elections and still hold the position of company secretary or director of the corporation.
 
Enrolments can be made via the Victorian Electoral Commission website, vec.vic.gov.au
or on 1300 735 427.

ends

THE Queensland Resources Council (QRC) has congratulated the Turnbull and Palaszczuk Governments on the decision to award the Land 400 Defence contract to Rheinmetall Defence Australia to be based in Queensland.

QRC chief executive Ian Macfarlane said Rheinmetall Defence Australia announced last year it would establish its Australia-New Zealand headquarters and a manufacturing and vehicle maintenance facility in South East Queensland if it won the upcoming LAND 400 Phase 2 contract to supply Australia’s new armoured vehicles.

"This is a $5 billion contract and a $5 billion injection into the Queensland economy," Mr Macfarlane said.

"I congratulate Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk and her Ministers for securing Rheinmetall in Queensland and I congratulate Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and his Ministers for selecting Rheinmetall and Queensland."

Last year, Rheinmetall announced a partnership with Australian steelmaker Bisalloy Steel.

"This is great news for Australian steel and coking coal needed to manufacture the steel armour for the Boxer CRV vehicles," Mr Macfarlane said. 

"For the Queensland resources sector, the Land 400 contract again highlights our role in advanced manufacturing.

"The men and women working in the Queensland resources sector are providing one in every $6 dollars in the Queensland economy, sustaining one in eight jobs for Queensland, and supporting 16,400 businesses across the State all from 0.1 percent of Queensland’s land mass."

www.qrc.org.au

ends

THE Labor Party's proposal to end cash refunds for excess dividend imputation credits will hurt thousands of self-retirees. These are people who place no pressure on the pension system, according to the Institute of Public Accountants (IPA).

Dividend imputation provides the shareholder with a tax or imputation credit on a dividend which is equivalent to the company tax already paid on that dividend.  If the imputation credit is higher than the tax they need to pay, the shareholder receives the excess as a cash refund from the ATO.

“Self-retirees or prospective self-retirees who seek to invest to secure a self-funded retirement plan; alleviating pressure on a government funded pension system, should be incentivised, not penalised,” said IPA chief executive officer, Andrew Conway.

“Australia should be looking at every avenue possible to reduce long-term reliance on government funded pensions.

“Considering the aging population factor in Australia, future governments will simply not be able to fund peoples’ retirements.

“Self-managed superannuation funds are a viable and important part of Australia’s superannuation system and this proposed measure will deter entrants from investing in their future self-funded retirement,” said Mr Conway.

publicaccountants.org.au

ends

INDIVIDUALS or organisations who have engaged the services of an Australian migration agent are encouraged to share their experiences in a new inquiry. Federal Parliament’s Joint Standing Committee on Migration is set to examine the regulation of Australian migration agents.

The Committee Chair, Jason Wood MP, said it is important to ensure that Australian migration agents are acting professionally and are properly certified.

“Migration agents play an essential role in Australia’s migration programs assisting business, skilled and student migrants and their families with their visa application. Unregistered or unlawful migration agents can not only damage the credibility of our visa regime but also significantly impact on the lives of visa applicants and their families,” Mr Wood said.

“The Committee will also examine integrity issues associated with the Electronic Travel Authority visa including visa cancellation rates and non-compliance with ‘no work’ conditions,” he said.

The Committee will also consider the registration and regulation or migration agents; deficiencies and barriers to relevant authorities' investigation of fraudulent behaviour; evidence of the volumes and patterns of unregistered migration agents and education agents providing unlawful immigration services; and reviewing the appropriateness of migration agents providing other services to clients.

The Committee invites submissions to the inquiry by Friday, April 27, 2018.

To obtain more information about the inquiry, including the full terms of reference, and to find out the various ways in how to participate, visit the inquiry website: www.aph.gov.au/mig.

The Committee is unable to intervene or provide advice in relation to individual circumstances.

Interested members of the public may wish to track the committee via the website.

ends