LOCAL STORIES

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. recently would have not known who the Opposition Leader of Australia was. It does not bear well for Albanese as he is an unknow quantity and has not warmed himself to the Australian people thus far.

Unfortunately, Labor has an uphill battle, and it will be interesting to see if Labor has to joins ranks with the Greens and possibly Clive Palmer to try and secure government. Labor is hoping they will get the numbers but given Albanese is not really leadership material, it will be interesting to see if Labor can pull something out of the bag come this election.

Unfortunately, for Albanese, he has not one of those leaders who has stood out over the years. In fact, a lot of people, until Whereas 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 decisions in a crisis.

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 after it has struggled through tough times of late. 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?

The other issue Labor faces is that Australian’s don’t easily forget what has happened over the last few years, especially in Victoria. With ‘Dictator Dan’ as he was coined during pandemic, Victorians were forced out of work, could not be with their families when they were sick, nor attend the funerals of their loved ones, and it did not stop there. Labor created a society of the vaxxed versus the unvaxxed with the unvaxxed being treated like they were the undead. Ironically, just before the election, the rules surrounding the unvaxxed have nearly disappeared, yet COVID still abounds – maybe Labor is hoping to win the unvaxxed vote? And we have not even dicussed the increased mental health toll we are now facing nor the sexual grooming agenda that seems to be invading our primary schools, where children as young as nine are encouraged to go home and discuss their father’s ejaculation and masturbating habits. The Labor Premiers have a lot to answer for in a lot of areas.

How will Australians vote? 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.

Find Geelong Column

by Deputy Mayor Trent Sullivan

When the whispers began to grow louder surrounding the Victorian government’s bid for the 2026 Commonwealth Games, it was inevitable that Geelong would play a significant role in this event.

One of the best things about living in Geelong is the fact that each year we play host to multiple major events across various sectors.

Geelong will be the home to seven sports at the Commonwealth Games, including the aquatics (swimming, para swimming and diving), gymnastics, beach volleyball, T20 cricket matches, hockey, triathlon and para triathlon and table tennis and para table tennis.

That speaks to our region’s flexibility but also to Council’s investment in a wide array of local facilities.

The funding that the City of Greater Geelong Council has provided for sporting clubs across the municipality has contributed to the redevelopment and upgrade of a large number of changerooms, making them gender neutral and fully accessible, and has overhauled lighting at several venues, allowing practice sessions to last longer and for clubs to play matches in the evening.

While it is likely there will be additional work required at some of our existing venues, state government investment of new infrastructure will generate fresh opportunities for local jobs, place money back into the local economy and strengthen our reputation as the sporting capital of regional Australia.

We want to use the Commonwealth Games as an opportunity to deliver a legacy for our community.

A regional indoor sports and events centre, for example, is a priority project for Council and we are developing a business case to advocate for funding from the Victorian and Australian Governments for this critical facility.

It is expected that in excess of 5000 athletes from around 70 countries will compete at the Commonwealth Games and I know that Geelong will be ready to embrace everyone who visits.

Importantly though, we will also be prepared to make the most of the opportunity to create something really special for decades to come.

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Director ID

- A criminal offence if you do not apply in time

By Warren Strybosch

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) is responsible for enforcing director ID offences set out in the Corporations Act 2001. It is a criminal offence if directors do not apply on time.

The ATO will start contacting new directors to encourage them to apply for their director identification number (director ID).

Directors who were appointed under the Corporations Act:

• before 1 November 2021, must apply by 30 November 2022. • between 1 November 2021 and 4

April 2022, must apply within 28 days of being appointed. • from 5 April 2022, must apply before being appointed.

Tax agents and accountants cannot apply for a client’s director ID on their behalf. A director must apply for a director ID themselves. The tax agent, bookkeeper or accountant can help their clients to apply for a director ID online by: • helping them set up their myGovID to a standard or strong identity strength • helping them with the documents they need to prove their identity when they apply online.

You can find more information about who needs to apply for a director ID at abrs.gov.au/deadlines

Applying for a director ID online

Directors must set up their myGovID with a standard or strong identity strength before they apply for a director ID.

You will need at least two of the following Australian identity documents to prove their identity:

You can find more information about who needs to apply for a director ID at abrs.gov.au/deadlines

Applying for a director ID online

Directors must set up their myGovID with a standard or strong identity strength before they apply for a director ID. • Drivers licence or learner’s permit • Passport • Birth certificate • Visa (using their foreign passport) • Citizenship certificate • ImmiCard • Medicare card

Directors will need additional information that the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) knows about them when they apply for their director ID online.

They’ll need their tax file number (not essential, but recommended), residential address as held by the ATO, and information from two documents to prove their identity. Your clients can use any two of these documents:

• Bank account details held by the

ATO • ATO notice of assessment • Super account details • Dividend statement • Centrelink payment summary • PAYG payment summary

You can find more information about which documents can be used to prove your identity at abrs.gov.au/verify

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Qantas to Launch Sydney Non-stop in 2025

(Australian Associated Press)

Australians will be able to travel to London and New York on non-stop ultra long-haul Qantas flights from Sydney and Melbourne from late 2025, ahead of the likely addition of routes between Paris and Frankfurt.

Qantas, which has been working on the no-stopover flights under Project Sunrise for a number of years, is ordering 12 Airbus A350-1000s wide-body aircraft to service the routes.

“It’s the last frontier and the final fix for the tyranny of distance that has traditionally challenged travel to Australia,” CEO Alan Joyce said in a statement on Monday.

“The cabin is being specifically designed for maximum comfort in all classes for long-haul flying.” The new planes are 25 per cent more fuel efficient than previous generation aircraft and will carry 238 passengers in four classes, including first, business, premium economy and economy, and have a “wellbeing zone” in the centre.

Passengers can use the wellbeing area for stretching exercises and take advantage of a self-service station to boost hydration.

The first flight is due to take off from Sydney by the end of 2025 and comes after three research flights from New York and London to Sydney in 2019.

Federal minister Stuart Robert said it was a great vote of confidence in the Australian economy.

“It’s superb,” he told Nine Network. “It demonstrates that Australians want to get out and travel again.” Before the coronavirus pandemic erupted, the so-called Kangaroo route between Australia and the UK was one of Qantas’ busiest international operations.

NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet said the fact Qantas was putting Sydney at the heart of its plans cemented the state capital’s status as Australia’s only global city.

“This … will help create 2500 jobs and generate more than $300 million in local economic benefits,” he said. Qantas began operating non-stop 17hour flights from Perth to London in 2017.

The airline also announced it is renewing its domestic narrow-body fleet from late 2023, with an order of 20 Airbus A321XLRs and 20 A220s under Project Winton, as the airline’s Boeing 737s and 717s are retired.

Meanwhile, the carrier released its thirdquarter trading update on Monday, showing domestic travel demand is returning to pre-COVID-19 levels ahead of expectations.

Demand for international travel is also recovering well, albeit at a slower pace due to some markets remaining closed or heavily restricted.

But bookings for destinations including London, Los Angeles, South Africa and Bali are all above pre-coronavirus levels.

Qantas maintained its forecast for underlying earnings of between $450 million to $550 million in the second half of fiscal 2022.

ATO Debts

– They will get their money eventually

By Warren Strybosch

The ATO will not always try to recoup debts owed by taxpayers immediately but place it on hold. This type of debt is called a non-pursued debt.

A non-pursued debt is a debt that is not visible on the balance of a taxpayer’s account on the ATO portal. When a debt is placed on hold, the ATO do not undertake any collection action, usually because it is not economical for them to do so. A debt deemed uneconomical for collection action will be re-raised at a later date if the taxpayer becomes entitled to credits, which will be applied to reduce the balance, or if their circumstances change.

So, if you see a debt removed from your tax portal account, don’t just assume the ATO has forgiven that debt. They just have placed it on hold and will most likely recoup it a later date.