THIS Wednesday, Members of Parliament will meet to discuss whether the use of Section 313 of the Telecommunications Act 1997 can and should continue to be used by government agencies to fight cybercrime.

The House Standing Committee on Infrastructure and Communications, chaired by Jane Prentice MP, will examine whether past uses of s.313 were appropriate, legal and effective, and whether changes should be made to the legislation to broaden or narrow the scope of its powers.

Issues to be addressed include:
- the efficacy of disrupting websites that host illegal content
- the legal basis of using s.313 in its current form
- whether other legislation provides for the disruption of illegal activity online
- whether the purpose of disruption has been adequately defined
- the need to better define the issues/offences against which s.313 is directed
- a potential role for ACMA as the principal reporting and oversight agency for use of s.313

Mrs Prentice said the Committee had considered a range of submissions relating to the use of s.313 to disrupt criminal activity online. 

“This Inquiry has raised important issues about personal freedom and community protection. Wednesday’s hearing will allow the Department of Communications to clarify its position on a number of issues and give the Committee a clearer view of the best way to achieve a balance between personal freedom and social responsibility when addressing the disruption of illegal online services,” she said.

Details of the hearing are as follows:
Date: Wednesday, 18 March 2015
Time: 8:00 am to 9:00 am
Venue: Committee Room 1R3, Parliament House, Canberra

Audio of the hearing will be broadcast live at: http://www.aph.gov.au/live

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THE Tourism & Transport Forum (TTF) will outline the importance of Australia marketing itself as a prime destination for wealthy families from the Middle East, at a public hearing in Canberra tomorrow.

The Trade Sub-Committee of the Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade wants to hear from the TTF about the potential for growing tourism from the Gulf States for its inquiry into trade and investment with the Middle East.

According to the TTF, the Middle East has been identified as a key growth market by Tourism Australia, which estimates that visitors from Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates collectively have the potential to spend $1 billion a year as tourists to Australia.

The $1 billion expenditure target places tourists from the relatively sparsely populated countries of the Gulf in much the same league as Japanese and German tourists. The higher average spend of Middle Eastern tourists coming to Australia is mostly due to them spending more per day and staying longer than visitors from other countries.

The potential for attracting more tourists from the Middle East is being assisted by the growth in international air services to Australia from the Gulf States, which grew by 27 per cent in 2014, mostly due to the Australian airline alliances with UAE-based carriers such as Emirates and Etihad.

More than 1.5 million passengers flew to Australia on Emirates, Etihad and Qatar Airways from the UAE and Qatar, and more than 150,000 came on Qantas and Virgin Australia services from the region.

To promote this, the TTF is urging the government to streamline its visa system for the Gulf countries, provide premium passenger services for passport control and customs for the high-end visitors from the Middle East, and offer similar services at business jet terminals.

Public hearing
Date/Time:  Wednesday 18 March 2015, 11:05 am
Location:  Committee Room 1R3, Parliament House, Canberra
Organisation:  Tourism & Transport Forum

Live audio broadcast will be available at www.aph.gov.au/live

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THE Financial System Inquiry (FSI) proposal to reinstate the banning of limited resource borrowing arrangements (LRBA) within an SMSF should be reviewed in favour of more targeted measures to address inappropriate use of gearing linked to poor quality advice, according to the Institute of Public Accountants (IPA).

“The IPA believes that the issue is not SMSF borrowing per se, but inappropriate advice provided by unlicensed advisers,” said IPA chief executive officer, Andrew Conway.

“A sledgehammer approach may not be the appropriate way to eliminate the use of poor quality advice relating to SMSF gearing.

“We need better analysis of ways to address the risks surrounding borrowing before merely imposing an outright ban.

“No case has been made, including no evidence presented, that there is a risk to the superannuation system as posed in the final FSI report.

“Interestingly, there are also no alternative measures other than an outright ban to mitigate some of the concerns raised.  For example, if they are worried about the diversification, why not consider excluding LRBAs for funds with small balances.

“There is plenty of scope to amend the rules to specifically address all of the issues raised without resorting to a total ban,” said Mr Conway.

The IPA has made this recommendation as part of its 2015/16 pre-Budget submission.  Further detail can be found at www.publicaccountants.org.au/2015budget

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THE Inspector-General of Taxation and several key stakeholders will participate in a wide-ranging discussion on current tax issues this Wednesday.

As part of the House Tax Committee’s inquiry into the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) 2014 Annual Report, senior officials from the ATO will give evidence on a range of issues, including:

• the risk framework used to select taxpayers for audits;
• the introduction of single touch payroll from July 2016;
• the ATO’s survey on taxpayer perceptions of ATO fairness; and
• delays in issuing refunds to taxpayers.

Committee Chair, Bert van Manen MP, said the hearing would allow the committee to track progress with the Commissioner’s plan to reinvent the ATO as a more contemporary and client-focused organisation.

“In past hearings, the ATO has been responsive in dealing with issues raised by stakeholders and the committee. We look forward to working through new issues at this hearing and being part of continuous improvement at the ATO,” he said.

Public hearing
Wednesday, 18 March 2014
Committee Room 2R1
Parliament House, Canberra

4pm   ATO
           Inspector-General of Taxation
           Chartered Accountants Australia + New Zealand
           Council of Small Business of Australia
6pm   Adjournment

The hearing will be broadcast live at: www.aph.gov.au/live

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