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FIND GEELONG | MAY 2022
www.findgeelong.com.au
Australia Is Going To The Polls By Warren Strybosch
On the 21st of May Australians will go to the polls to decide which party will form the next federal election.
It will be Albanese first time leading the Labor party in an election since becoming Opposition Leader in 2019. Albanese took office at age 56 and is the oldest first-time Opposition Leader in 59 years, since Arthur Calwell (age 63) took office in 1960. If Albanese wins office, he will be the 31st Australian Prime minister and he will follow the likes of Kevin Rudd who was replaced by Julia Gillard, the first female prime minister of Australia, only to be replaced by Rudd a few years later after she backflipped on the carbon tax scheme. It will be an uphill battle for Albanese given he is such an unknown quantity and has not done terribly well during the recent Q&A appearances.
However, despite not been able to answer some of the simpler questions, his party is surging ahead in the polls indicating they will pick up about 80 seats – a major victory for any party to achieve. With such a big lead in the polls it might mean that Labor will not need to look to the Greens or Palmer to secure government. It has been many years since Labor was won government on its own – will this be an historic win for them? Mr Morrison is seeking the Coalition’s fourth term in office and whilst he might not be liked by everyone in Australia, is a well-known figure who has demonstrated he can make hard decisions in a crisis. Where debt is concerned, and let’s face it, no one likes seeing Australia going into more debt, Morrison is hoping that Job Keeper and the other incentives that were
provided during the pandemic will put Liberal in good stead to secure another term. Almost all politicians agree that Job keeper was vital and without it many more businesses would have hit the wall and never recovered had it not been introduced. However, will this and their current economic and fiscal policies be enough to get them over the line? Only time will tell. The Coalition re-election theme is one of economic trust and pointing out that if Labor gets in, they are likely to ruin Australia’s economy. Then if you add the Greens and Palmer into the mix, the question will be, will Labor actually be running the country, or will the Greens and Palmer be pulling the strings? It is unlikely Labor will join forces with Palmer, but no one is sure what deals are happening between Labor and the Greens. However, with current polls Labor might not need the Greens and this is sure to make the Greens nervous. It will be interesting to see where the Greens fall this election and whether or not we see a rise in independents. How will Australians vote? Will they vote in Liberal for another term or go with an unknown Labor? Or will many associate the Labor Premiers and the ‘lockdowns we had to had’ with the federal election and will this actually end up going against Labor and their chance to secure office? Many people we have spoken too are unsure how they will vote. In less than two weeks one thing will be for sure, someone will be in government. God help us all.
Doctor sentenced for failing to lodge tax returns and BAS By Warren Strybosch
The ATO has reported that a Western Australia doctor has been sentenced to 7 months’ jail and placed on a good behaviour bond for failing to comply with court orders to lodge 18 outstanding income tax returns and BAS. In February 2020, the doctor was convicted at the Perth Magistrates Court and fined $50,000 for failing to provide the ATO with the outstanding income tax returns and BAS. The doctor was also ordered to make the outstanding lodgments within 2 months. However, he failed to lodge, and was prosecuted once more. The ATO said the doctor will be released from jail after 2 months, upon entering into a $10,000 recognisance to be of good behaviour for the remainder of his sentence. As part of the good behaviour bond, he will need to lodge each of the outstanding tax returns and BAS.
