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south asia 2 South Asia Timestimes FEDERAL ELECTION - 2019

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APRIL 2019

‘Fairness’ versus ‘strength’ – the battle to frame the federal election

By Mark Triffitt*

effective words to frame political messages. This is because distracted and distrustful voters are more likely to listen to political messages that speak to the universal and positive principles that values espouse. Hence, values framing potentially addresses the “attention” problem. Their simplicity also readily lend themselves to the repetition required by politicians to hang onto public attention, thus helping to overcome the “traction” problem.

oliticians have long faced the challenge of how to effectively communicate with citizens who largely see them as dissemblers and promisebreakers. On the face of it, the task for the major parties to construct messages that resonate with voters appears even more daunting in the 2019 federal campaign. After all, the campaign is occurring against the backdrop of historic low levels of voter trust and engagement. At the same time, the policy battle lines between the major parties heading into the election are among the starkest in recent memory. As such Labor and the Coalition appear to have seeded a rich harvest of cut-through messages organised around very different themes. ‘Fairness’ versus ‘strength’ Federal Labor’s campaign communications are organised around a single word: “fair”. At a party, leader or candidate level, “fair” or “fair-go” is threaded through nearly every piece of communication to voters. Bill Shorten’s budget reply – the unofficial start of Labor’s election campaign – was replete with the word, or variations such as “fair go action plan” and “intergenerational fairness”. In truth, fairness has always been part of the ALP’s messaging DNA. But its core campaign message in 2019 is aggressively leveraging what the party sees as an emerging zeitgiest in the Australian electorate against undue economic power and privilege. The Coalition, on the other hand, has its own singular message: “strength” and its semantic sibling “security”. Both words have been campaign talismans for the Coalition since the Howard years, when 9/11 and the Tampa debate sensitised voters to national and border

security. This is why “strong economy”, ‘securing our future’ and “secure borders” will be repeated ad nauseum by the Coalition in the hope that old wine in new bottles will again prove to be its election elixir. These juxtaposed themes appear to promise a level of campaign frission that might potentially reengage a jaded electorate. The reality, however, is likely to be the opposite. Fighting the framing wars Campaign communications based on pithy slogans have always been integral to electioneering. Slogans seek to compress complex realities into bite-sized messages that are simple and memorable. But in the 21st century, slogans and other highly truncated communications have

become even more critical to political campaigning. In this so-called age of distraction and information overload, every communicator faces major challenges not just to gain the public’s attention, but hang onto it. This attention/ traction dilemma is compounded for politicians given the rapid rate at which citizens are tuning out of mainstream politics. These structural factors have meant the semantic contest between parties – otherwise known as framing wars - have become increasingly influential in how political campaigns are structured and run. “Framing” in political communications parlance means marking semantic boundaries around the debate that a party’s campaign or policy speaks to. Values - such as fairness, strength, opportunity, equality and continuity - are the most

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Seeking a connection with voters While values framing - formalised as political communications practice in the United States over a decade ago - has become an integral tool for Australia’s political parties to connect with voters, there are major drawbacks. First, the number of values – as expositions of basic moral principles – are relatively limited. This is why the same values, with minor variations, keep being churned out by parties in successive elections. They are also used by competing parties in the same campaign to neutralise the impact of rival frames. Already we see the Coalition attempting to reframe Labor’s fairness mantra as well as Labour’s assurances they too are “strong” economic managers. As a result, rather than helping to differentiate parties, values framing can reinforce voter perceptions that there is little difference between them. Embracing the vacuous The universality of values helps major parties – facing an eroding support base – to appeal to many voters simultaneously. But their catchall character can also make them and their leaders appear shallow and unimaginative. Think of Malcolm Turnbull’s “Continuity and Change” slogan in 2016. Not only was it widely criticised as a meaningless cliche. CONTD. ON PG 3

APRIL 2019

asia times 3 FEDERAL ELECTION - 2019 southSouth Asia Times

Dog whistles, regional visas and wage theft – immigration policy is again an election issue This article is part of a series examining the Coalition government’s record on key issues while in power and what Labor is promising if it wins the 2019 federal election.

By Jock Collins*

mmigration policy will be a major issue in the 2019 federal election. We know this because immigration has featured significantly at every Australian election since the 2001 “children overboard” election. David Marr and Marian Wilkinson argued in their 2003 book, Dark Victory, that willingness to play the race card in relation to boat people was a decisive factor in John Howard’s election victory. For Tony Abbott, “Stop the boats” was a major campaign theme when the Coalition won back government in the 2013 election. The current prime minister, Scott Morrison, rose to prominence as Abbott’s unyielding immigration minister who stopped the boats. While the events of Christchurch may have cramped the opportunity for the Coalition to run hard on fear, promising to be tough on borders and tough on (Muslim) terrorism, the dogwhistle politics on the issue of refugees and asylum seekers will be there for those wanting to hear it. For Labor these policy issues have been difficult. It was Kevin Rudd who as PM declared that those arriving by boat would never be settled in Australia, irrespective of the validity of their claims for protection under the UN Refugee Convention. Labor supported efforts to get children out of detention on Manus Island, but doesn’t want to give the conservatives too much space to convincingly advance a “Labor weak on border security” line. Humanitarian intake is growing The Coalition governments of Abbott, Turnbull and Morrison have in fact increased Australia’s

annual humanitarian intake significantly. The number has risen from just over 13,750 to more than 18,000 – though the government has not loudly broadcast this fact. In addition, Abbott in 2015 announced a one-off intake of 12,000 Syrian conflict refugees. Most of them arrived in 2017, effectively doubling the annual refugee intake in that year. Australia – and the refugees – coped well, demonstrating the nation’s capacity to significantly increase refugee intakes. Our research with newly arrived Syrian, Iraqi and Afghan refugee families suggests they are settling well in Australia, receiving a warm welcome from locals in the cities and regional centres. Employment and family reunification are their key worries. Labor’s shadow immigration minister, Shayne Neumann, has flagged a new temporary sponsored visa for the parents of migrants. Unlike the current visa, it does not have a cap and it might assist refugees to get their parents to Australia. Labor has announced it will increase the annual humanitarian intake of refugees to 27,000 by 2025. It will also abolish Temporary Protection Visas (TPVs). These visas provide boat arrivals who are found to be refugees the right to stay for only three years with work and study rights and access to Centrelink payments. As Labor argues, this places them “in a permanent state of limbo”. The Coalition parties have not announced their policy intentions in relation to humanitarian intakes or the rights of asylum seekers, including those who arrived by boat. At a time when Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton scans the horizon for new boat arrivals, record number

of asylum seekers are arriving by plane under tourist visas. In 2013-14, there were 18,718 asylum applications, including 9,072 boat arrivals. This had increased to 27,931 asylum applications, with no boat arrivals, by 2017-18. Department of Home Affairs Each year the Australia government sets the permanent immigration targets. Until recently this was set at 190,00. In practice just 162,000 immigrants have been admitted over the past year or so. A token cut and 2 new visas In this context Prime Minister Morrison’s announcement that the permanent immigration target will be cut to 160,000 is really no change in immigration policy. There is nothing to see here if you dismiss the need to be loudly anti-immigration in the current populist political climate. The announcement is linked to congestionbusting in the major cities

of Sydney and Melbourne. It is accompanied by the introduction of two new visa pathways – the Skilled Work Regional (Provisional) Visa and the Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (Provisional) Visa – for skilled migrants to live and work in regional areas for five years. These visas offer the carrot of permanent residency at the end of three years to attract new immigrants to regional Australia. In addition, the budget announced that scholarships to the tune of $94 million over four years would be available to domestic and international students who study there. Temporary migrants exploited Most immigration policy debates centre on permanent immigration intakes, particularly of humanitarian immigrants and asylum seekers. Yet annual temporary migrant intakes – international students, working holidaymakers and temporary skilled workers – are three times greater than the permanent intake. Over

800,000 temporary migrants were in Australia in June 2018. One key policy issue is the exploitation of temporary migrant workers. The Turnbull government abolished the 457 temporary skilled migration visa because of increasing reports of abuse and exploitation by employers. One recent survey of 4,332 temporary migrant workers found “increasing evidence of widespread exploitation of temporary migrant workers, including wage theft”. Half of all temporary migrant workers may be underpaid. About one in three international students and backpackers earned $12 an hour or less – about half the minimum wage. This issue goes not just to the ethics of maintaining a temporary migration program largely premised on migrant worker exploitation. It also resonates with Labor’s campaign for a living wage and the restoration of penalty rates for workers in response to the low rate of real wage growth in Australia, which constrains consumer demand. The 2019-20 federal budget allocated extra funding to the Fair Work Ombudsman to bolster enforcement action against employers who exploit vulnerable workers and announced the National Labour Hire Registration Scheme to target rogue operators in the labour hire industry. However, the research suggests wage theft is widespread in the small business sector, a key target for tax relief in the budget. It is an area of immigration policy that requires considerably more resources and punch. *Professor of Social Economics, UTS Business School, University of Technology Sydney. Source: The Conversation, April 11, 2019 (Under Creative Commons Licence)

‘Fairness’ versus ‘strength’ – the battle to frame the federal election CONTD. FROM PG 2 It was also seen as a knock-off from a popular political comedy series. Finally, relying on a singular value to frame campaigns hard

wires parties to lean on other generalisations that reinforce public perceptions politicians are out of touch. Take both parties’ perennial appeal to “ordinary Australians”

(is there such a thing in the worlds’s second most multi-cultural society?) or “working families” (at a time when more voters than ever are single). In short, while voters will hear “fair” and “strength”

robotically communicated throughout this campaign, what is viewed by the major parties as a “cutthrough” cure to voter disengagement risks only adding to it. *Lecturer, Public

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Policy and Political Communications, University of Melbourne. Source: The Conversation, 13 April, 2019. (Under Creative Commons Licence)

south asia 4 South Asia Timestimes FEDERAL ELECTION - 2019

Federal election 2019: state of the states

e now know that the next federal election will take place on May 18. To guide you through the campaign, our “state of the states” series takes stock of the key issues, seats and policies affecting the vote in each of Australia’s states. We’ll check in with our expert political analysts around the country every week of the campaign for updates on how it is playing out. (This intro was written before the May 18 date was announced by PM Hon. Scott Morrison.) Victoria

Nick Economou, Senior Lecturer in the School of Political and Social Inquiry at Monash University For the first time in many contests, Victoria is shaping up as a crucial battleground in the 2019 federal election. Normally there are few marginal seats in Victoria that involve a contest between Labor and the Liberal Party. In recent times, there’s been more interest in Labor’s battle with the Greens in the inner-city seat of Melbourne, and the election of the independent Cathy McGowan in the rural seat of Indi (McGowan will not be recontesting this seat in 2019). If the Victorian state election held in November 2018 is any guide, the historical pattern where few marginal seats change hands will be broken. Labor could be on the verge of a landslide in Victoria. Even before a vote has been cast, the 2018 federal redistribution has already created a new Labor seat in Melbourne’s suburban north-west – to be called “Fraser” – and the previously Liberal seat of Dunkley is now notionally Labor. If the anti-Liberal swing that occurred in the state election was replicated in the federal contest, other Liberal seats would also fall. In the 2016 federal election, Labor won a two party vote of 51.8%. In the 2018 state election, Labor’s statewide two party vote was 57.3% – a difference of 5.5 percentage points. If we see a similar swing in the federal election, Labor would gain Chisholm, LaTrobe, Casey and McEwen, with Deakin and possibly Flinders also being won. There was more bad news for the Coalition out of the 2018 state election. The state district of Mildura in Victoria’s rural far north-

west, previously held by the National Party, was won by independent Ali Cupper. Mildura comprises about half of the federal seat of Mallee, whose sitting member, Andrew Broad, has since resigned over an internet sex scandal. This formerly safe National seat is now clearly vulnerable – particularly to a high profile local independent. In the half-senate election, meanwhile, arguably the most significant contest will involve the Derryn Hinch Justice Party. In all likelihood, Labor will win two seats, the Greens will secure one seat, and the joint Liberal-National ticket ought to secure two seats. The final seat will be battled over by the Coalition and a host of minor parties, of which the Hinch party will be the most prominent. Indeed, Derryn Hinch himself is up for re-election and this may well be reason enough for the Hinch Justice Party to prevail. New South Wales

Chris Aulich, Adjunct Professor at the University of Canberra Most political analysts argue that the forthcoming federal election will be won or lost in Queensland. While there may be more marginal seats in contention in that state, there are a number of ongoing issues which play out both nationally and in NSW which might influence the election result. The first is the tension between conservative and moderate Liberals. This tension underpins the challenge by independent Liberal Zali Steggall to former PM Tony Abbott in the Sydney seat of Warringah. The contest also highlights election funding. Steggall is receiving support from Get Up!, which has targeted “hard right” Liberals Abbott and Dutton. Abbott holds his seat by 11%, but in 2016 this result was achieved against challenges from Labor and the Greens and not such a strong, local candidate from the right. A second issue relates to the poor performance of the Nationals in the recent NSW elections, when many traditional National voters switched their votes to independents or to the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers party. This suggests that the regional seat of Cowper might now become more marginal, especially since the Nationals’ Luke Hartsuyker is not recontesting. Independent Rob Oakeshott is trying for a second time to win, although he will need a swing of more

than 4.6%. Third, many voters have been angered by the overthrow of sitting prime ministers and in Malcolm Turnbull’s seat of Wentworth showed this anger by preferring independent Liberal Kerryn Phelps over the endorsed Liberal candidate, Dave Sharma. Much interest now focuses on whether Phelps’ vote will evaporate as anger wanes. Sharma is a strong candidate but Phelps has made a significant contribution to parliament, especially in sponsoring the “medevac” legislation. There are few marginal seats in NSW that might be exposed by a swing away from the government, but in Gilmore, retiring Liberal Ann Sudmalis won in 2016 by just 1,503 votes. Prime Minister Scott Morrison has intervened by making a “captain’s call” in nominating former Labor President Warren Mundine, so this seat is likely to be close. Other marginal seats in NSW include Robertson and Banks held by the government by less than 2%, and the Labor-held seat of Paterson. Queensland

Maxine Newlands, Senior Lecturer in Political Science at James Cook University Queensland is a Liberal National stronghold. At the last federal election, the Coalition picked up 21 of 30 Queensland seats. The Australian Labor Party picked up eight seats, and Katter’s Australian Party was re-elected in the seat of Kennedy. Labor’s win over the Coalition in Herbert in North Queensland gave them their only Queensland seat outside of the state’s metropolitan area. Queensland’s population is concentrated along the southeast corridor that stretches from Brisbane to Ipswich and Toowoomba, so funding allocations are a divisive issue in regional and rural Queensland. The concentration of much of the state’s infrastructure into one corner has seen the minor parties – Katter’s Australian Party and Clive Palmer’s United Australia Party – set up offices in Townsville CBD in recent years. The message is clear, vote for them and they will look after the North’s interest. With Labor hanging onto Herbert by a mere 37 votes, the candidate with local interests will be key. The first woman to hold Herbert,

incumbent Cathy O’Toole, is a born and bred Townsvillian. She will face the Coalition’s Philip Thompson – last year’s Queensland Young Australian of the year. While the two locals battle it out, the minor parties will be the ones to watch. Katter’s Australian Party, Palmer’s United Australia Party, and Pauline Hanson’s One Nation will be in a threeway battle for preference votes. One Nation benefited from Clive Palmer’s absence from the 2016 election, picking up a 13% swing in the northern suburb of Bluewater (in the seat of Herbert). This year the spoils will need to be split. For the Greens, the Adani coalmine and Great Barrier Reef will be key issues. National and local support from Stop Adani and GetUp! Australia’s campaign will take a local concerns to the national level. GetUp! also have their sight on another seat: the minister for home affairs Peter Dutton’s electorate of Dickson. Dutton has a stronger majority than Herbert’s Cathy O’Toole, but he too is a high profile scalp. Unlike O’Toole, Dutton has held the seat for nearly two decades. Over the past 18 years, the Coalition under Dutton has seen their majority dwindle with a margin of just 1.7% in 2016. With a 5.1% swing away from the Coalition in favour of Labor at the last election, Labor candidate Ali France will be a strong contender. Whatever happens on polling day, Queenslanders will probably stay with form, and vote with the Coalition. Whether the Coalition will secure more than 21 seats will depend on its local focus on jobs, the environment and who can close the divide between the metropolitan south and the rest of Queensland. Western Australia Ian Cook, Senior Lecturer of Australian Politics at Murdoch University Until budget night, the GST issue in Western Australia looked as if it had gone away – finally. West Australian folk are as sick of it as everyone else. Scott Morrison’s government committed to a GST top-up for Western Australia and introduced a floor into the system that will mean that Western Australians won’t be punished as much for not having poker machines outside casinos. Last night’s

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APRIL 2019

budget and a A$1 billion dollar shortfall for Western Australia means that the issue might come back. The point about the ongoing resentment toward the GST split is that it was, and is, a manifestation of the perennial complaint of West Australians: that, apart from the income generated from resources, no one in Canberra cares about Western Australia. While the GST short-fall affects all states, Labor will work hard to get WA voters to believe that the latest GST problem is another sign that the Liberals don’t care about us. That’s federal politicking in Western Australia. And Canberra has really cared lately. Opposition Leader, Bill Shorten, brought his shadow cabinet to Western Australia two weeks ago to reassure us that a Labor government would really care, and will spend billions on infrastructure and other projects in the state. Last week Scott Morrison came to announce that a Liberal-National government would spend another A$1.6 billion on roads and rail in addition the A$4.7 billion WA got for its GST top-up. Western Australia Treasurer Ben Wyatt, like everyone else, sees the recent visits and promises and the budget as signs that the major parties are very interested in Western Australian seats. Well, some seats. For the Liberals it’s Cowan and Perth. For Labor it’s Hasluck, Pearce, Swan, Stirling and Canning. Pearce is particularly interesting because it is Western Australia star Liberal, Christian Porter’s, seat. But there’s always the matter of Durack and O'Connor being held by the Liberals when they should be National Party seats. They’re huge regional seats that the Nationals hoped to win (Durack) or win back (O'Connor) in the last election but didn’t. South Australia Rob Manwaring, Senior Lecturer in Politics and Public Policy at Flinders University South Australia is rarely a game-changer in Australian federal elections, but there are some key clashes taking place in the state. While the issue of who forms government might not be decided in the driest state in the country, a few electoral contests will tell us a good deal about the state of the parties, and the mood of the electorate. CONTD. ON PG 10

APRIL 2019

southSouth asia times 5 Asia Times

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south asia 6 South Asia Timestimes

INTERVIEW

APRIL 2019

Blaming migrants for all issues is appeasing the Far Right: Sunny P. Chandra

Sunny P. Chandra â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Independent candidate for the Australian Senate from Victoria talks candidly about different issues before the community. He is passionate about Australia being an immigration nation and feels to blame migration for everything is short sighted. Sunny also talks about the flaw of forcing new migrants to regional areas which lack infrastructure. His views about international students and private colleges are of great import. He is also seeking volunteers for his campaign for the 18 May, 2019 election. And there is much more. influx of immigrants, skilled or not. And furthermore, it would be costly to taxpayers. My policy would see international students given incentives to relocate to regional areas. International students bring approximately $10 Billion into the state each year. My plan is to redirect those funds to the regional areas. Education is an extremely successful revenue stream for the nation. Reducing those numbers would be detrimental to the economy. There is no point in denying that we need skilled and unskilled labour in the regions.

By SAT News Desk

Excerpts from the interview: Q:What were the immigration policy changes announcing this month? A: The Scott Morrison government has announced it will reduce the number of immigrants coming into Australia. It will cap permanent migration at 160,000 and will introduce the newly skilled worker visas that require a person to live in the regional areas for three years as a precondition for permanent residency. These policies are not in place yet and with the coming federal election, the government will need to be re-elected to make these changes. Q: Whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s wrong with this policy? A: Such policy announcements are made to purely satisfy the Far Right in the community who see migration as the cause of all the current issues facing us now. To label migration as the problem is incredibly shortsighted and lacks reasonable economic planning. We cannot simply reduce the number of migrants coming to Australia and force those people who are here to resettle into regional areas. Cutting migration numbers do not address the issue of our ageing population, nor does it address the issue of inner-city congestion and the economic problems that come with it. Reducing the number of migrants will also reduce the productivity of the nation, as the nation struggles to deal with labor shortages and as lowing economy. It is not fair to send new migrants to regional are as when there is n't the infrastructure in place to support them. Families need homes, children need schools, and everybody will need adequate access to services. As it stands some regional areas don't have

the capacity to service an influx of new residents. It is far more economically responsible and feasible to relocate the student population to regional areas. Q: Why should international students go to the regions? A: With an influx of students into regional areas the $10 billion raised in revenue could go towards building the infrastructure such as roads schoolsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; medical facilities etc., that regional townships desperately need. As the student population increases so do their connection to the townships. And it is through these connections that these students will be come part of the community working in local businesses contributing to the local economy and helping regional are as thrive. Q: How will cover the costo establish private colleges? As most of your readers know international students must attend a college. These colleges are privately owned. this privately-owned establishment will need to relocate to the region in

order to qualify for their certification at present there is no need for all these colleges to be in the city or in urban areas this in part is leading to inner-city congestion overcrowding roads and public transport and housing affordability issues. The relocation of these institutions will come with an incentive for the opportunity to enroll more students. Currently, some institutions are at a capacity which not only limits the number of students that the colleges can accept but it also limits the number of students we can accept into the state. With more space comes more capacity to accept a greater number of students into courses. Of course, priority will be given to courses where there is any existing skill shortage. Q: What is your position on migration and regional growth? A: While I am happy that the Government wants to invest in the regions this is simply a knee-jerk reaction to urban congestion and poor planning. At present, the infrastructure is not in place to accommodate an

My key policy is to encourage people to the regions by offering them incentives towards their permanent citizenship. This way we can fill the shortage gap in the region's, help to populate these areas and will create a cohesive community where everybody is respected and appreciated. International students bring a wealth of enthusiasm and cultural diversity. It is this cultural diversity that helps to build asense of community and asense of connectedness to these regional areas. Once students become familiar with their new environment, they will inevitably bring job opportunities, fell create their own employment opportunities and the boost to tourism as family and friends come to visit them will ultimately see job growth and any increased revenue from existing business owners many of whom have struggled. Having the colleges relocate at no expense to the taxpayer means that existing members of the regional communities can focus on building stronger businesses and identifying what resources need to be managed for the incoming influx of students. With students coming into the regions there will be an increasing demand for accommodation, hospitality

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and other local services. Part of my policy is to ensure that communities are ready and able to accept the volume of students that will come into the region. Regional community towns have always existed on the values of mateship and community. That means that we prepare the communities for the business boom that they will receive. This means that we need to ensure that whatever government wins at the next election, whatever election promises are made to the regions are honoured and upheld. This would mean that the commitment to funding more public transport development would go ahead. There's been lots of discussion about getting more public transport out into regional growth areas. And I would want to see that election promisesupheld. Q: What does regional growth need to succeed? A: For the regions to thrive they need growth in population and an increase in revenue. The problem lies that one cannot happen without the other. So, to help begin this change we must use the existing revenue streams that we have access to. This means redirecting educational revenue, generated by international students to the regions. Having these colleges relocate to these regions will help with population growth and revenue. Q: How can readers support yourcampaign? I am always looking for support and volunteers within the community. Whether it be distributing flyers, hanging a poster in your shop window for supporting me and social media there are many ways people can support my campaign. Signing up to our newsletter or on our website is one way of keeping informed and up-to-date on our campaign progress.

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APRIL 2019

South Australian Multicultural and Ethnic Affairs Commission (SAMEAC); Active in Indian community -- Charter Member The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE); Founding Member NRISA (Northern Region Indian Seniors Association); Life Member IITaV (IIT Association of Victoria); Committee Member AIBC (Australia India Business Council); Contributor, Australian Broadcasting Commission (ABC) Hindi Language Radio; Fellow, Australian Institute of Company Directors (FAICD); Member, Migration Institute of Australia (MMIA) and Migration Alliance (MMA)

SUNNY PRATAP CHANDRA B.Tech. M.Sc. FAICD, MMIA, MMA

CAREER OUTLINE: Graduated with a Bachelor of Technology (B.Tech.) in Metallurgical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology /Kanpur followed by an M.Sc. in Engineering from Queens University, Canada (1968); Worked in technical and administrative roles with IBM India. Migrated with his Australian-born wife and their young family to Australia. Australian Citizenship was conferred on him in 1975; Professional career in IT senior management spanning 35 years in Adelaide, Sydney and Canberra with IBM Australia and FUJITSU; Entrepreneur Founder/ CEO of medium size business Triveni Infotech in Melbourne with on-line clients for its proprietary database solutions, across all States in Australia; Enrolled in Victoria University to qualify as a Registered Migration Agent (2009). Established SUNMARG Migration Australia in that year and currently handling a wide spectrum of complex Immigration matters including doing pro bono work for refugees and domestic violence cases; Owned a cafe in Coburg (2013- 18) and ran it as an unpretentious small business employing immigrant and local workers; Active in Australian community - Member, University of the Third Age (U3A); ex-President of Rotary Club of Noarlunga (South Australia, exJustice of the Peace (JP) and ex-Board Member, Authorised by Sunny P Chandra

POLITICS: Sunny is now passionate about giving back to Regional Victoria and wants to contribute to the community as a Senator for Victoria. He is deeply concerned about the level and scope of the current political ‘debate’ surrounding Australia’s Immigration policy. His 10 years’ experience as an Immigration Consultant has given him an insight into many facets of the immigration regime and federal policy, which are in urgent need of rational discussion and possible overhaul. Sunny has developed a unique proposal combining international students, Immigration and regional opportunities, which could assist regional growth and development, reduce urban congestion, and channel funds into the Region at no cost to the taxpayer.

CITIZENSHIP • •

INDIAN CITIZEN BY BIRTH AUSTRALIAN CITIZEN BY CONFERRAL

(Renounced Indian Citizenship in 1975)

ADDRESS: •

Office: Suite 1010, 365 Little Collins Street, MELBOURNE

•

Postal: PO Box 1200, Kyneton VIC-3444

EMAIL: sunny.chandra@sunny4senate.com PHONE: 0419 846 464 WEBSITE: www.sunny4senate.com

sunny.chandra@sunny4senate.com

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6 March 2019

south asia 8 South Asia Timestimes

community

APRIL 2019

SHIReeN MORRIS FOR DEAKIN campaign launch

SAPAC LITERARY/POETRY EVENING - 2019

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APRIL 2019

COMMUNITY

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AFL COMMUNITY AMBASSADOR INDUCTION 2019

DR. J. MADAN's 5TH BUSINESS NETWORKING EVENT

INSTAREM â&#x20AC;&#x201C; MONEY TRANSFER S. ASIA FOCUS EVENT

MINDBLOWING FILMS 1OTH ANNIVERSARY

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community

APRIL 2019

Vaisakhi in Dandenong

A massive celebration of Vaisakhi Festival was organized in Dandenong by the Gurudwara Sri Guru Granth Sahib ji Keysbourogh. Thousands attended and Nagar Kirtan procession also took place and free food was distributed to all.

Federal election 2019: state of the states CONTD. FROM PG 4 The most marginal seat in SA is Boothby, with conservative Liberal Nicolle Flint sitting on a nominal lead of 2.8%. If the voters are keen to punish the Liberals, then Flint may not be able to capitalise on first term incumbency. Critically, GetUp! have targeted Flint, and will be hopeful after their success in Tasmania last time round. There are other key seats, far less marginal than Boothby, that could also tell us something about the extent of voter dissatisfaction with the Morrison government. In the seat of Sturt, currently held by the ubiquitous, but now retiring Christopher Pyne, the Liberals only have a nominal margin of 5.8%. Pyne has not left the preselected James Stevens much time to gain name recognition in the

constituency. Stevens is SA Premier Steven Marshall’s former chief of staff. In other circumstances, the Liberals might hope to claw back the seat of Mayo – currently held by the Centre Alliance’s Rebekha Sharkie. Sharkie was caught up in the citizenship crisis, and beat Georgina Downer in a byelection. Downer is back again, drawing on some significant support, and will hope that she can make better inroads than her byelection effort. Economically, South Australians will be concerned that the state is treading water. Energy, climate breakdown, cost of living concerns, and also the dead fish of the Menindee are key issues preoccupying the SA electorate. Given the Liberal leadership crisis, the voters may well be unforgiving.

Tasmania Richard Eccleston, Professor of Political Science and Director of the Institute for the Study of Social Change at the University of Tasmania Michael Lester, researcher and PhD student at the Institute for the Study of Social Change. Tasmania has emerged as an electoral battleground in the early “faux” election campaign. There have been multiple visits by Coalition and Labor frontbenchers with a long list of project funding announcements and promises. And the reason for that is clear. Labor holds four of the state’s five House of Representative seats, but only one is classified as “safe” following an electoral redistribution in 2017. The other seat – the Hobartbased seat of Clark (formerly Denison) – is held by popular

independent Andrew Wilkie. For each seat to change hands after the redistribution, Bass nominally would require a swing of 5.4%, Braddon just 1.7% (although there has since been a byelection in that seat), and Lyons, 3.8%. Franklin, currently held by Shadow Minister for Ageing and Mental Health Julie Collins, would require a swing of 10.7% and is considered a safe Labor seat, even in these volatile times. An opinion poll on federal voting intentions conducted by local pollster EMRS last December put Labor on 40% statewide, up from 37.9% at the 2016 election. The Liberals were down from 35.4% to 33%, and the Greens were on 11%. This Tasmanian poll, combined with the fact that the Coalition continue to trail Labor nationally, suggests

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that the Liberals have little chance of regaining any of the three seats (Bass, Braddon and Lyons) they lost to Labor back in 2016. The lack of major new announcements for Tasmania in the budget also suggests that government strategists are more focused on holding ground on the mainland than winning back lost territory in Tasmania. But, as we will explain in our seat-by seat coverage over the course of the campaign, the Liberals have endorsed new candidates in these three key seats. All Tasmanian politics is local, so personalities matter. Whether these fresh faces are enough to cause an upset or two come May remains to be seen. Source: The Conversation, April 11, 2019 (Under Creative Commons Licence)

APRIL 2019

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COMMUNITY

AIII HOLI 2019

Computer Repairs and Support • Computer Repairs • Virus & Spyware Removal • Computer Upgrades • Internet Security • Computer Tune-up • Broadband and home networking setup

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APRIL 2019

COMMUNITY

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SANKAT MOCHAN - FESTIVAL OF COLOURS

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community

Big Bangla New Year celebrations

APRIL 2019

The Bangladeshi and other communities celebrated the Bangla New Year (Boishakhi Festival ) on 14 April near the Federation Square, city. Thousands of people attended the event wearing colorful dresses. There was a lively cultural program and stalls dotted the event area. SCFOL (Sub Continent Friends of Labor), Bangladeshi Friends of Labor (BFOL) and South Asian Public Affairs Council (SAPAC) leaders including Sharif As Sabar, Manoj Kumar, Dilki Perera among others attended the function.

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APRIL 2019

community

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ABOUT GURPAL

Gurpal Singh is a person of character and integrity. He lives with his wife and teenage son, and is an accomplished lawyer who runs several legal offices in Melbourne, including in the northern suburbs. He has been in legal practice for 26 years in India and Australia, practicing as both a barrister and solicitor. He has also lectured on commercial and corporate law at La Trobe University in Bundoora. Gurpal was born in Punjab India where he earned his degrees in Economics and in Law. Gurpal is a practising Sikh, with a deep belief in inclusiveness and diversity. He is a strong voice in the community for religious freedom, believing that everyone should feel safe to express their own values and beliefs in safety of their community. As an immigrant and small business owner, Gurpal understands the expectations and challenges of both immigrants and the entrepreneurs. He recognises the importance of small and family owned businesses and their impact on local job growth, particularly in Scullin. He is passionate about delivering a stronger economy to create more opportunities and choices for families, workers and small businesses. Gurpal Singh is your local Liberal candidate for Scullin.

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APRIL 2019

technology

APRIL 2019

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The myth about the race for artificial intelligence By Virginia Dignum*

MEA, Sweden, Mar 26 2019 (IPS) - UMEA, Sweden, 26 March 2019 (IPS) — At this year’s Davos economic forum, US executives warned that China may be winning the socalled Artificial Intelligence (AI) race with Europe. In another recent article, Bloomberg pointed out that countries are rushing to not be

left behind. The author also correctly pointed out that there’s still a long way to go before AI will be commercially viable. In its vision for AI, launched last December, the European Commission has described its concerns with the position of AI in this race, which some have claimed Europe already lost. In my opinion, speaking of a ‘race’ is both wrong and

dangerous to begin with. It puts the focus on competition and brings with it a sense of gloom and despair. So let me make two arguments: firstly, there is no race and secondly, if there was, it would the wrong race to engage in. There’s no race because of the very definition of a race: it’s a competition of speed, usually judged by an objective measure like a clock or to a specific end goal. In AI

In my opinion, speaking of a ‘race’ is both wrong and dangerous to begin with. It puts the focus on competition and brings with it a sense of gloom and despair.

developments however, we don’t have an end point! Nor do we have a specific time to stop. Therefore, there’s no way to determine when and where someone will win this so-called race. Suggesting that it can be won assumes a moment after which we can stop developing technology, and advancing humankind. It’s the wrong race It’s even more important to understand why it‘s the wrong race to engage in. The US and China are betting on machine learning developments, and in particular on deep learning, as the approaches that will achieve true AI, and enable them to ‘win’ that so-called race. These approaches rely on the availability of huge amounts of data and computational power, to enable machines to perceive, or learn, characteristics of a particular domain. This approach is used to recognise faces in pictures, to determine the credit worthiness of mortgage applicants, and to diagnose cancer cells in scans or X-ray images. All of these are relevant and important applications, and the progress achieved in the last few years is truly remarkable. The goal is not to win races, it’s to ensure the well-being of humankind and the environment. However, these approaches are focusing on one aspect of intelligence: the ability to perceive patterns and make predictions based on those patterns. True intelligence, on the other hand, includes more than that, like the capability to reason, interact and decide based on little, incomplete and contradictory information. In short, we need to explore alternatives to statistical approaches to learning. In fact, just a few weeks ago, a study analysing 25 years of AI research has concluded that the era of deep learning is coming to an end. Europe has traditionally been strong on symbolic approaches to AI and on (social) robotics. These are some of the areas that should be invested in and that will bring AI forward in the near future. Therefore, it would be a mistake to blindly follow US and China on their machine learning ‘race’ when we now have the opportunity to show the value of alternatives approaches, in

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which we Europeans may have an advantage. The end of one kind of AI Another reason why data-heavy approaches are not the way forward: they have a negative impact on human well-being and the environment. Any development that does not boost trustworthiness will ultimately not succeed. There’s no business model for untrustworthy AI or unethical AI. The results and decisions taken by systems based on deep learning and neural networks are hard to understand and explain. Therefore, they aren’t sustainable in areas where the trust of users and experts is crucial. Moreover, current approaches are very environment unfriendly: the amount of (energy) resources needed to store and compute data are already comparable to the needs of a small city. This is not sustainable especially if this type of AI relies on exponential growth of data and computational power. Europe is home to strong, world leading, fundamental research in AI, and known for a strong ethical background and respect for human rights. Putting these at the core of advances in AI will lead to breakthroughs that can really bring AI forward in ways that are both financially profitable and beneficial to human and environmental well-being. But this will imply a new mindset when it comes to how we do business and how we create an inclusive decisionmaking process. Developing AI responsibly, grounded on ethical principles and human rights, doesn’t represent a burden on research and investment, but rather a stepping stone bringing this powerful technology forward. More than a technical decision, Europe is the only place that, at the moment, can push for this vision and its required policies. The goal is not to win races, it’s to ensure the wellbeing of humankind and the environment. *Virginia Dignum is a professor at the Department of Computing Science at Umeå University in Sweden. She heads the research group 'Social and Ethical Artificial Intelligence'.

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SCIENCE

APRIL 2019

First ever black hole image captured, proves Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity By Sandipan Talukdar

n a breakthrough, the first ever direct image of a black hole has been captured, thanks to Event Horizon Telescope (EHT). Situated 55 million light years away from the Earth, the black hole is a real monster—some three million times the size of the earth. This imaging was made into a reality by the EHT project under which eight ground –based radio telescopes were installed across the Earth to capture the image. The black hole was found in a galaxy called M 87. Professor Heino Falcke of Radboud University of Netherlands, the proposer of the experiment, told BBC—“What we see is larger than the size of our entire Solar System. It has a mass 6.5 billion times that of the Sun. And it is one of the heaviest black holes that we think exists. It is an absolute monster, the heavyweight champion of black holes in the Universe.” Imaging the black hole also proves Einstein’s

General Theory of Relativity to be an unerring assumption in the description of the nature of space and time, once again. Katie Bouman’s algorithm made the extraordinary accomplishment possible Processing the images from the EHT required massive computations and this extraordinary task was made easier by Katie Bouman, who developed an algorithm in 2016 to create the image. The algorithm put together all the data collected from the radio telescopes scattered around the globe. The EHT used the technique of interferometry, which combines the signals from two telescopes so that they interfere with each other. But, an astronomical signal reaches two telescopes at slightly different times that hampered the calculations on which interferometric imaging depends. Moreover, Earth’s atmosphere can also slow down radio waves that exaggerate the time difference.

Bouman intelligently dealt with the problem of time delay where she adopted an algebraic solution. If measurements from three telescopes are considered and multiplied, the extra time delay due to atmospheric noise cancel each other. Bouman’s algorithm— the CHIRP (Continuous High-resolution Image Reconstruction using Patch priors) was developed with this mathematical logic. Even if the atmospheric noises were filtered, there was still a problem in place. The data obtained from some telescopes scattered around the globe are pretty sparse to have a sensible image of a gigantic black hole. Bouman and her colleague contributed to resolve this aspect as well. Capturing the impossible The region of space that we call a black hole is that region whose mass is enormously large and dense that even light cannot escape its gravitational attraction. This made imaging of

the black hole a nearly impossible task. But, Stephen Hawking’s groundbreaking work on black holes shed some light on how to image it. Hawking’s work says that black holes are able to emit huge jets of plasma, and also their enormous gravity pulls streams of matter towards its core. When matter is pulled towards the core of a black hole, it encounters the event horizon—the point at which even light cannot escape, and here the matter forms an orbiting disk. Matters on the disk convert some of its energy to friction. This friction in turn warms up the disk. The closer a matter to the event horizon, the greater the friction is. Matter closer to the event horizon, in this process, glows bright with the heat of few hundred suns. It is this light that the EHT detected along with the black configuration surrounded by the glowing disk. The data collected by the EHT—some 5,000 terabytes, was really massive that could only

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be stored on hundreds of hard drives. This data was physically delivered to a super computer, which, with Bouman’s algorithm, corrected the time differences and produced the image. This black hole imaging has again proved Einstein’s theory of general relativity which, almost a century back, predicted the formation of the black holes. According to Einstein, if a spherical object is squeezed to a sufficiently small sized object, the gravitational pull would be such that nothing would be able to escape, not even light, and this is what a black hole is. Black holes, as revealed by recent advances in research, are the outcomes of massive supernova explosion of stars which have used all its nuclear fuel. The supernova explosion would result the core of the star collapse into a black hole, which losses all its ability to withstand the enormous gravity. Source: People’s Dispatch, April 13, 2019.

BUSINESS

APRIL 2019

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Statement from Adani Mining on Carmichael Project delays

This statement can be attributed to the CEO of Adani Mining, Mr Lucas Dow.

o say the Queensland Government is not interfering in approvals processes for the Carmichael Project is farcical, considering letters from the Premier’s office have been leaked to ABC today whilst the Premier is overseas, ironically to secure international investment and develop export opportunities. “We have repeatedly stated what is required to get started on construction of the mine, which is signoff on the Black-Throated Finch Management Plan

and the Groundwater Dependent Ecosystem Management Plan. Other management plans and approvals processes can come later, in line with standard processes for getting a mine and rail project up and running. It’s time for the Queensland Premier and Deputy Premier to come clean and stop the delaying and political tactics. “All we’ve ever asked for is a fair go and to be treated like any other mining company, yet this is far from what we’ve experienced.

“The Black-Throated Finch Management Plan has been sitting with the Queensland Government for more than 18 months, with seven versions having been provided all of which have incorporated State Department feedback and input. This plan has also been subject to an eleventh hour, so called “independent” review led by an individual who heads up an organisation whose members have publicly stated anti-mining, anti-coal agendas. “The Groundwater Dependent Ecosystem

Management Plan has been under review by the Queensland Government for more than two years now and they are currently looking at the 11th version. To suggest they are being pushed into a decision without enough time for review is just another political ploy and distraction to avoid making a decision. The Queensland Government continues to refuse providing certainty of process and timing. “It’s time once and for all for the Queensland Government to stop shifting

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the goal posts on Adani in order to do the Labor Party’s bidding. This Labor government is putting the jobs and livelihoods of Queenslanders at risk. “We need clarity of timing and process as to when the Queensland Government will finalise their decisions on the two outstanding management plans. They have everything they need to make a decision. It’s time for them to get the job done so that we can deliver thousands of jobs for regional Queensland.” - Adani Australia Media Release, 12 April, 2019

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business

APRIL 2019

How World Bank ignored "positive side" of regulations on labour, environment, land

EW DELHI: Wellknown Delhibased advocacy group, Financial Accountability Network India, in a just-released compendium during the on-going general elections, “5 Years of Achhe Din: A Quick Look at Banking and Finance Sector”, has sought to analyze on different aspects of finance, banking and the economy. Prepared by well-known experts, including Dinesh Abrol, Rohit Azad, and Sucheta Dalal, the analysis is claimed to have been carried for triggering an “informed discussion” on the economic performance of the NDA-II government. One of the chapters in the 29-page booklet is a critique of how India recently increased its ranking in Ease of Doing Business (EODB). The index rose from 142 in 2014 to 77 in 2018. This was claimed to be a success, and seen as an improved business environment and increased investment in the country, contributing to over-all development. This was also an index to measure how easy it is to conduct private business in the country. Excerpts from the critique: EODB straightjackets reforms into a uniform prescription across countries, without looking at regional and country specific issues and gives a ‘one size fit all’ idea. EODB according to World Bank’s own legal unit has a bias towards deregulation and considers regulations are bad for business. It ignores the positive side of regulations on labour, environment, land etc. Labour unions and environmental groups have critisized the report for its bias for deregulation of labour laws and environmental laws. Paul Romer, the chief economist of the World Bank, resigned after raising issues of political bias of these ranking in the context of Chile. The ranking fell when socialist government came into power which contributed to the fall of the government in the next election. India was earlier challenging the EODB ranking as data was collected from only

one city, i.e. Mumbai, to determine the ease of doing business of the entire country. This resulted in the formation of an Independent committee on EODB. The committee suggested doing away with the ranking and also renaming the report to understanding regulations as business climate is not being dealt here in the report. India, to attain a higher ranking has made about 10,000 both small and big, as reported by the Prime Minister. These include the most regressive reforms including moving towards a self-regulation and selfcertification mode in many inspections earlier done by labour and fire departments. Immediate fallout could be seen in terms of rising incidents of fire in factories and restaurants resulting in deaths due to noncompliance. The EODB change involves labour sector reforms. The reform will see the repealing of 38 of the existing labour laws, and replace them with four new labour codes. These are the Industrial Relations

Code (replacing three labour laws), the Code on Wages (replacing four labour laws), the Code on Social Security (replacing 15 laws) and the Code on Occupational Safety and Health and Working conditions (replacing 16 laws). The attempt is to make the laws employer friendly and easier for business and corporates to hire and fire workers. These reforms will also bring make trade unions and collective bargaining harder and will leave smaller enterprises with less than 300 workers outside the control of most labour laws. Industrial Policy India is trying to bring a new industrial policy which is business friendly but is not successful yet as there are major disagreements on the contours of the policy. Land, labour and environmental policies are the major impediments for a business friendly country. After the labour laws, much of the environmental clearances and laws are being diluted / by passed for business. The Centre has exempted industries like steel, cement

and metal from mandatory prior environment clearance for setting up a new or expanding the existing captive power plant employing waste heat recovery boilers (WHRB) without using any auxiliary fuel. Environment ministry gave up its power to grant environmental clearances for mega-construction projects like malls, offices, residential apartments, and gave it to local municipal bodies — institutions with no scientific expertise or resources to carry out prior assessment of the adverse environmental impact likely to be caused by large projects. Various ‘reforms’ on ease of construction index led to watering down of regulations such as Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) for construction. Earlier, large-scale construction projects with a built up area of 20,000 square metres and above needed permission from two statelevel expert committees: the State Expert Appraisal Committee and State Environment Impact Assessment Authority (both committees were setup by the environment ministry). Small-scale projects did not require such elaborate clearances from the environment ministry. Under the new regime, builders could get both the building plan approvals and environment clearances for their largescale construction projects approved from their respective local municipal corporations, which were expected to set up their own environmental cells. This was later stuck down by the National Green Tribunal. The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate change has also brought a new draft Coastal Regulation zone notification, which weakened the existing regulations and opened the coast lines for real estate, ports, and tourism. Regional empowered committees at sub national level have been delegated higher powers to dispose of proposals for Forest Clearance involving diversion of 5 to 40 hectares of forest land and all proposals involving

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These reforms will also bring make trade unions and collective bargaining harder and will leave smaller enterprises with less than 300 workers outside the control of most labour laws. diversion of forestland for linear projects irrespective of area of forest land involved. India’s apex National Board for Wildlife (NBWL), charged with allowing forest land in Protected Areas to be diverted for industry, cleared 682 of the 687 projects (99.82%) that came up for scrutiny. The Forest Advisory Committee (FAC) of the Union environment ministry has granted preliminary forest clearance to the Parsa opencast coal mine, in one of the largest contiguous stretches of very dense forest in central India called Hasdeo Arand that spans 170,000 ha (hectares). Of this, 841.538 ha of biodiversity-rich forest land, about the size of 800 football fields, has been cleared for mining to be operated by Adani. Meanwhile, India has reduced its corporate tax from 30% to 25% and put emphasis on indirect taxes through a GST regime. The insolvency code and associated reforms are part of EODB ease of doing business as it helps the ease at which one can start business and exit business. The insolvency regimes help business to move one once the business goes bad. Source: Counterview, April 14, 2019

business

APRIL 2019

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InstaReM’s digital moneytransfer push focuses on South Asia/India market By SAT News Desk

ELBOURNE, 22 March: India and Philippines are the countries which get the largest amount of remittances from Australia. Running into millions of dollars, no doubt, it’s a massively big and lucrative money transfer industry which has attracted many big and small companies. Instarem, Singaporeheadquartered, is one of them operating here since 2015 with 15,000 customers. It’s different because of its pure digital crossborder payment system operating successfully in the Australia-to-South Asia/India corridor. Its operations cover 55+ countries. In a briefing to select South Asian media and community leaders, Vinoth Manoharan, Country Manager of InstaReM, said, “The South Asia/ India corridor is very exciting for InstaReM, and we strive to deliver the bestquality experience to our Indian and other South Asiancustomers. This audience often tells us that

convenience is important to them whenconducting remittances. We have heard their message loud and clear and are pleased thatour focus on customer experience and convenience has resulted in a strong 24 percentvolume growth in the Australia-toSouth Asia corridor, led by Australia-India traffic lastyear.” “My father regularly remits money back home to South Asia and used to be hesitant about transferring money online. After experiencing great

convenience in his first digital transaction with InstaReM, the notion of taking time to visit a physical branch or an agent does not make sense to him anymore!” “His situation is not unique – many of the South Asian diaspora living, working, and studying in Australia need to conveniently send and receive money and we know how important it is to make the process as smooth as possible,” continued Mr Manoharan. A lively Q-A session was

revealing with company officials including Vinoth, Karan and Taylor answering to issues facing customers. On a question by SAT, Karan said, people who transfer money via the outlets end up giving bigger commissions. So, he feels, customers need to be educated tro take the digital route. Unlike other money transfer companies, InstaReM money can only be transferred overseas through their App or website. The company possessed $ 250 million

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transactions in 2018. India is the second largest global remittance market for Australia, with AUD$2.74 billion transferred from Australia to India in 2017. World Bank statistics show migrants in Australia sent close to AUD$23.816 billion overseas in 2017. During the briefing session, InstaReM laid out the firm’s focus on understanding and delivering on the unique needs of the South Asian/ Indian diaspora in Australia through unique positioning of five core benefits: 1. Zero-Margins on Foreign Exchange rates 2. Low Transaction Fees 3. Absolute Transparency in Costs 4. Speed of Settlement 5. Convenience A Finder.com.au study found 12 percent of people in Australia provide financial assistance for relatives overseas and 32 percent have sent money abroad at least once; around half of those as a gift and just over one third to support relatives, says a InstaReM media release. For more information, visit https://www.instarem.com/

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environment

APRIL 2019

Human health in dire straits if urgent actions are not made to protect the environment: UN report

airobi, Kenya, 13 March, 2019 – The most comprehensive and rigorous assessment on the state of the environment completed by the UN in the last five years was published today, warning that damage to the planet is so dire that people’s health will be increasingly threatened unless urgent action is taken. The report, which was produced by 250 scientists and experts from more than 70 countries, says that either we drastically scale up environmental protections, or cities and regions in Asia, the Middle East and Africa could see millions of premature deaths by mid-century. It also warns that pollutants in our freshwater systems will see anti-microbial resistance become a major cause of death by 2050 and endocrine disruptors impact male and female fertility, as well as child neurodevelopment. But the report highlights the fact that the world has the science, technology and finance it needs to move towards a more sustainable development pathway, although sufficient support is still missing from the public, business and political leaders who are clinging to outdated production and development models. The sixth Global Environmental Outlook has been released while environmental ministers from around the world are in Nairobi to participate in the world’s highestlevel environmental forum. Negotiations at the Fourth UN Environment Assembly are expected to tackle critical issues such as stopping food waste, promoting the spread of electric mobility, and tackling the crisis of plastic pollution in our oceans, among many other pressing challenges. “The science is clear. The health and prosperity of humanity is directly tied with the state of our environment,” said Joyce Msuya, Acting Executive Director of UN Environment. “This report is an outlook for humanity. We are at a crossroads. Do we continue on our current path, which

will lead to a bleak future for humankind, or do we pivot to a more sustainable development pathway? That is the choice our political leaders must make, now.”

Innovative policy options The projection of a future healthy planet with healthy people is based on a new way of thinking where the ‘grow now, clean up after’ model is changed to a near-zero-waste economy by 2050. According to the Outlook, green investment of 2 per cent of countries’ GDP would deliver longterm growth as high as we presently projected but with fewer impacts from climate change, water scarcity and loss of ecosystems. At present the world is not on track to meet the SDGs by 2030 or 2050. Urgent action is required now as any delay in climate action increases the cost of achieving the goals of the Paris Agreement, or reversing our progress and at some point, will make them impossible. The report advises adopting less-meat intensive diets, and reducing food waste in both developed and developing countries, would reduce the need to increase food production by 50% to feed the projected 9-10 billion people on the planet in 2050. At present,

33 per cent of global edible food is wasted, and 56 per cent of waste happens in industrialized countries, the report states. While urbanization is happening at an unprecedented level globally, the report says it can present an opportunity to increase citizens’ wellbeing while decreasing their environmental footprint through improved governance, land-use planning and green infrastructure. Furthermore, strategic investment in rural areas would reduce pressure

for people to migrate. The report calls for action to curb the flow of the 8 million tons of plastic pollution going into oceans each year. While the issue has received increased attention in recent years, there is still no global agreement to tackle marine litter. The scientists note advancements in collecting environmental statistics, particularly geospatial data, and highlight there is huge potential for advancing knowledge using big data and stronger data collection

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collaborations between public and private partners. Policy interventions that address entire systems – such as energy, food, and waste – rather than individual issues, such as water pollution, can be much more effective, according to the authors. For example, a stable climate and clean air are interlinked; the climate mitigation actions for achieving the Paris Agreement targets would cost about US$ 22 trillion, but the combined health benefits from reduced air pollution could amount to an additional US$ 54 trillion. “The report shows that policies and technologies already exist to fashion new development pathways that will avoid these risks and lead to health and prosperity for all people,” said Joyeeta Gupta and Paul Ekins, co-chairs of the GEO-6 process. “What is currently lacking is the political will to implement policies and technologies at a sufficient speed and scale. The fourth United Nations Environment Assembly in Nairobi in March needs to be the occasion when policymakers face up to the challenges and grasp the opportunities of a much brighter future for humanity.” Source: UN Environment, Media Release, 13 March 2019.

south asia APRIL 2019

South Asia Times

SOUTH ASIA

southSouth asia times 23 Asia Times

Workers stage protest against coal mine deaths in Pakistan

Eight miners have died in April alone. According to estimates, mine-related accidents kill between 100 to 200 labourers every year in the country.

he Pakistan Central Mines Labor Federation (PCMLF) and the All Pakistan Federation of Labour organized a protest on April 12 against the increasing number of mine accidents and deaths. As many as eight coal miners died in two different accidents in April alone. The protest was organized in Quetta, the provincial capital of Balochistan. Another of the key demands was the implementation of proper safety measures for coal miners. The protesters also demanded an end to the rampant exploitation of coal workers, as well as justice and compensation for the families of those killed in mines. The protest also called upon the State to implement the recommendations of the ILO C-176, the Safety and Health in Mines Convention, 1995. On April 10, Abdul Qayyum, Muhammad

Anwar, Muhammad Irfan and Kashmir Khan died after an explosion triggered by the accumulation of poisonous gas in a mine in the Sorange district of Balochistan province, some 625 kilometers from Quetta city. In another incident on the same day, four miners died in an explosion in northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. The incident took place in the town of Darra Adam Khel. A portion of the mine had caved in, trapping the laborers. A rescue team recovered the bodies of the workers, and saved two others who were inured. The miserable conditions in mines have led to the death of more than 120 workers in recent months. According to PCMLF estimates, mine-related accidents kill between 100 to 200 laborers every year in the country. In January, four miners were killed in a mine blast in the Loralai district of

Balochistan. Before that, in December 2018, a blast in the Sharigh mine area in Khost town of Balochistan killed one laborer. Nearly 20 more coal mine workers, along with two rescue team members, died in the Sanjadi area of Quetta in August 2018. Another four workers died in an explosion in Sanjadi in June 2018. And as many as 23 laborers, most of whom were from a single family, died in two separate incidents in Quetta’s Pir Ismail and Marwah areas. Working Conditions Coal mining is considered to be more hazardous than hard rock mining because of the nature of the rock strata, leakage or explosion of poisonous gases and coal dust, collapsing of mine stopes, as well as mechanical errors from improper use and malfunctioning of mining equipment. The hazardous conditions are made worse by the neglect of workers’ safety by the mining

companies and the state authorities. According to PCMLF estimates, the coal mining sector employs more than 100,000 workers in its 400 coal mines. Miners usually begin work at the age of 13 and continue till they are about 30 years old, when they are forced into unemployment due to chronic respiratory illnesses, tuberculosis, loss of eyesight, injuries, etc. They are often forced to work for over 10 hours a day without adequate safety gear, which is in violation of Pakistan’s labor laws. In the absence of wellequipped emergency response teams, other workers often end up being the first responders which, in a lot of the cases, leads to further casualties. Many workers ‘retire’ under such circumstances, often without pension or unemployment benefits. Source: Peoples Dispatch, April 14, 2019.

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The miserable conditions in mines have led to the death of more than 120 workers in recent months. According to PCMLF estimates, minerelated accidents kill between 100 to 200 laborers every year in the country.

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SOUTH ASIA

APRIL 2019

Making it in India: Women struggle to break down barriers starting a business By Ashlin Mathew

EW DELHI, Mar 29 2019 (IPS) - Radhika BaburaoShinde was all of 12 years old when she was married off to a man who was 10 years older. She was sent away to live with her new husband, a truck driver, and his family in remote, droughtprone Satara district, 330 kilometers southwest of Mumbai. She left school and went to work as a laborer on her husband’s family farm. When Shinde had children of her own—a daughter and two sons— she wanted them to have a better life. In villages across India, where an estimated 833 million people live on less than $3.20 a day, it usually falls to women like Shinde to take care of their children and ensure they have enough to eat. A chance encounter in 2014 helped her break the cycle of poverty. Employees

of the Mann Deshi Foundation, which teaches business skills and lends money to rural women, arrived in her village offering training in various trades for a nominal fee. Shinde completed a 120hour course in tailoring and acquired the skills she needed to start a small business catering to her neighbors, in addition to her farm work. This helped her earn the equivalent of $5 a month to spend on her children—a considerable sum for an area where the median household income was less than $70. Her in-laws weren’t pleased. They didn’t want her new business to distract her from farming. “There were many fights, and eventually they consented,” she recalls. Labor force participation The women-run Mann Deshi Foundation, established in the 1990s, is among a handful of

organizations seeking to break down social, legal, and economic barriers to women’s entrepreneurship in India. Despite rapid growth, wide gender disparities in the economic sphere have been stubbornly persistent. The result has been a tragic waste of human potential that has hampered efforts to reduce poverty in the world’s second most populous country. Perhaps one of the starkest signs of Indian women’s plight is their labor force participation rate, which was just 27 percent in 2017, about one-third that of men. By that measure, India ranks 120th among 131 countries, according to data from the World Bank. Women entrepreneurs do no better. Only about 14 percent of Indian women own or run businesses, according to the Sixth Economic Census, conducted in 2014. More than 90 percent of companies run by women

are microenterprises, and about 79 percent are selffinanced. Women account for just 17 percent of GDP in India, less than half the global average, Annette Dixon, the World Bank’s vice president for South Asia, said in a speech in March of last year. If even half of Indian women were in the labor force, the annual pace of economic growth would rise by 1.5 percentage points to about 9 percent, she estimated. The World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report 2018 ranks 149 countries on four measures: economic participation and opportunity, educational attainment, health and survival, and political empowerment. India ranks 108th overall, with particularly low scores on two metrics: health and survival and economic participation. Small wonder, then, that the country also fares poorly in indexes

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of entrepreneurship. India ranked 52 among 57 countries in the 2018 Mastercard Index of Women Entrepreneurs, ahead of Iran and behind Tunisia. The index looks at things like financial access, advancement outcomes, and ease of doing business. “Many times, there are pressures and opposition from within the family due to societal stereotypes that force women to just take care of the house as her key responsibility,” says Aparna Saraogi, cofounder of the Women Entrepreneurship and Empowerment (WEE) Foundation. “Also, the lack of child-care support systems holds women back.” Lack of collateral There are other hurdles. Women in India rarely own property that could serve as collateral for startup loans. They have less education than men, on average. CONTD. ON PG 25

SOUTH ASIA

APRIL 2019

southSouth asia times 25 Asia Times

Making it in India: Women struggle to break down barriers starting a business

CONTD. FROM PG 24

When they do work, they receive lower wages than their male counterparts and generally occupy lowskill jobs in agriculture and services, often in the informal economy. Unequal access to finance is a major barrier for aspiring entrepreneurs, who need capital to start a business, however small. Providing equal access to finance while promoting female entrepreneurship would raise GDP and reduce unemployment, according to a 2018 IMF study, “Closing Gender Gaps in India: Does Increasing Women’s Access to Finance Help?” The potential benefits would be greatest— amounting to a 6.8 percent increase in GDP—if India also simplified its notoriously complex labor market regulations and improved women’s skills, the study found. “If our economy is to grow by 9 to 10 percent consistently in the next three decades, we have to create ecosystems that support every kind of woman entrepreneur,” says SaireeChahal, founder of SHEROES, a community platform that allows women to reach out to counselors by telephone or via an app. The organization has helped victims of domestic violence like SathiyaSundari, who lives in the southern state of Tamil Nadu. When she left an abusive relationship, she found herself with no means of support. She turned to SHEROES, which helped her start a beauty parlor. “I didn’t know what it would take to run a business,” she recalls. “SHEROES sent mentors to train and guide me and also set up a crowdfunding campaign to help me begin my business,” Sundari says. The campaign raised the money she needed in just six days in 2017. Her beauty parlor now earns her about 8,000 rupees ($113) a month, a figure that rises to 15,000 rupees during the December–March wedding season. That’s better than the median monthly household income of 7,269 rupees in rural areas of Tamil Nadu. Unequal education is another major barrier. The

literacy rate for Indian women is 64 percent, compared with 82 percent for men. It’s no coincidence that states with higher literacy rates also have more women entrepreneurs. The region comprising India’s four southernmost states plus Maharashtra, where literacy is higher than the national average, is home to more than half of all women-led smallscale industrial units in the country, according to the Sixth Economic Census. Yet even among India’s educated urban elite, women entrepreneurs face discrimination. MeghnaSaraogi, who lives in New Delhi, is one of them. She runs a fashion app called StyleDotMe, whose users upload photos of themselves trying on various outfits and get feedback from other users in real time. She recalls her experience seeking start-up capital in the mostly male world of technology. “There were many who asked what would happen to the business when I got married and had a child,” she says. “Then there were others who were not sure if a business with a woman at the helm would find any investors at all.” In the end, she got two rounds of funding totaling the equivalent of $322,000 in 2016 and 2017 through the Indian Angel Network (IAN). Last year, StyleDotMe launched an interactive augmented reality platform for jewelry called mirrAR. MeghnaSaraogi’s success story should be the norm, but it isn’t. PadmajaRuparel, cofounder and president of IAN, says only about a quarter of the fund’s

portfolio of more than 130 start-ups are led by women. Of the 10,000 deals they review each year, fewer than a third are brought by women, Ruparel says. “It is not policy or regulatory changes that women are looking for, but better representation and a change in mind-set,” says Debjani Ghosh, president of the National Association of Software and Services Companies. “India has to grow up and realize that there is no need to fear having an equal number of women in the room.” Still, there are signs of progress in the technology sphere. IAN, for example, has seen the proportion of pitches from women rise from 10 percent four years ago to 30 percent today. Says Ghosh: “Investors have slowly woken up to the fact that there is a need to look at the merit of ideas rather than the gender of the founder.” Low female participation in public life may help explain the persistence of formal and informal barriers. Women accounted for just 19 percent of ministerial positions in India and 12 percent of members of Parliament as of January 2017, putting it in 148th place among 193 jurisdictions tracked by the Inter-Parliamentary Union. “There has to be a mechanism to have an effective legal structure which is supportive of women’s empowerment,” says Aparna Saraogi, of the WEE Foundation. “It should effectively address the gaps between what the law prescribes and what actually occurs.” Women often lack the

knowledge and skills to tap opportunities, says Chetna Sinha, founder of the Mann Deshi Foundation. To help fill that gap, the foundation runs a help line for women entrepreneurs and organizes mentorship programs. It also runs mobile business schools, a women’s bank, and a community radio station. “Our program highlights access and control of finances,” Sinha says. “We identify and train women according to their needs.” Among the foundation’s trainees is RupaliShinde. At age 14, she married into a family that owned a small leather-crafting business that earned them a monthly income of $56, barely enough to send their two children to school. Seeking to expand the business, she took out a loan of $1,405 from the Mann Deshi Bank, but she lacked the knowhow to make a go of it. Counselors at the bank encouraged her to take a one-year business course. “I became financially and digitally literate, and they helped me with practical solutions,” she says. She now has five women working for her, and her family’s income has risen to $281 a month—enough to enroll her daughter in an engineering course. The WEE Foundation provides a six-month entrepreneurship mentorship program to both tech and nontech start-ups free of charge based on applications from around the country, says Aparna Saraogi. The program is funded by India’s Department of Science and Technology. “We have mentored more

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than 500 women-led startups since 2016 and enabled more than 5,000 women with skills to ensure that they can earn a living,” she says. Some vocational programs in India still favor men. Skill India, a government-sponsored program, teaches young men trades such as plumbing, masonry, and welding. But courses for women focus on beauty, wellness, and cooking, and none aim to develop entrepreneurs. Women like Radhika BaburaoShinde have seen their careers take unexpected turns. She expanded her modest tailoring business with help from the Mann Deshi Foundation, adding a cloth shop. Then, she took a free, six-day course in animal husbandry at a local agricultural research institute after Mann Deshicounselors told her that it would help her improve her income. “Once I came back, I started going to nearby homes to check their goats and to tell them about artificial insemination, sonograms. I inseminated 100 goats free of cost, and when these goats gave birth to healthy kids, people started trusting me. I started to get calls from nearby villages too.” Now she earns about 8,000 rupees a month—and hopes to save enough to send her 16-year-old daughter to college. Entrepreneurs like Shinde are blazing a path for the next generation of women. Not only are they making sure their own daughters get the education they need to start businesses of their own, but they are serving as role models for the wider community, offering Indian women hope for a brighter future. *The article was first published in Finance & Development, the IMF’s quarterly print magazine and online editorial platform, which publishes cutting-edge analysis and insight on the latest trends and research in international finance, economics, and development. Opinions expressed in the article are those of the author; they do not necessarily reflect IMF policy.

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south asia

APRIL 2019

Mumbai's 9 million slum dwellers to decide electoral fate of India's richest city

By Gajanan Khergamker*

ndia’s financial capital and home to the largest number of the richest in the nation, 46,000 millionaires and counting – Mumbai – will be going to polls on April 29. With a total wealth of $ 950 billion, according to the New World Wealth, Mumbai figures 13th on the list of the 15 Wealthiest Cities across the world, beating Toronto and Paris. The riches notwithstanding, the city’s poll prospects will be decided by its more than half slum-dwellers. While estimates put the population of Mumbai to around 22 million in 2018, about 9 million live in the slums spread across the city. And, the issues that drive the target voter remain much the same over the last decade: Issues that affect the slum-dweller. Oddly, poll prospects in Mumbai have, since long, been decided by the slumdweller who literally holds the politics of the city at ransom by sheer dint of representational numbers and will. “Shiv Sainiks have always been chowkidars,”

offers sitting Shiv Sena MP from Mumbai South, Arvind Sawant. “My party has always been alert and vigil since its inception and provides security to the city,” says Sawant, jumping on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s most recent Chowkidar bandwagon. Doing a swift turnabout, Shiv Sena, BJP’s longstanding ally in the state after raving and ranting about Prime Minister Narendra Modi in its official channels throughout the preceding tenure, leaving no stone unturned in insulting the PM following every move or speech, has decided to dump the criticism and go along with BJP in the state polls. It was Rahul Gandhi’s ‘chowkidarchorhai’ barb at Prime Minister Narendra Modi that had left miffed the security guards association in Mumbai and concurrent demands for the Mumbai police to file a case against the Congress president. The Maharashtra Rajya Suraksha Rakshak Union even submitted an application at the BandraKurla Complex (BKC) police station in Mumbai last month, claiming the remark

was an "insult" to security guard. “The police should register an offence against Gandhi to stop such kind of slogans that insult security guards,” offers Union president Sandeep Ghuge. Almost all security guards and watchman live in slums in Mumbai and most of them have even managed to get their voter identity cards updated with their local addresses. “Why, every political party in Mumbai panders to the whims of the slum-dweller. It is, after all, the slum-dweller who decides on the poll fortunes of the sitting corporator, MLA or MP,” maintains Security Systems expert MR Rao, a resident of Kandivali. “Issues that affect the middle class are hardly tackled by political parties who, despite representing the whole of Mumbai, actually cater only to the slum-dweller,” says a disgruntled Rao. Mumbai has a unique temperament when it comes to elections. The rich and the upper middle class will talk endlessly about the political situation in the city, the dearth of will of elected representatives, the ruin of the city’s heritage

and common amenities and more yet not exercise their right of franchise on the day that matters the most. And, where the working middle-class is concerned, they’re already making plans for a long weekend as the polling date falls on a Monday. “In Mumbai, elections are associated with a lengthy holiday period when most working class people move out with their families,” says Company Secretary aspirant and Ghatkopar resident Nilesh Gala with nonchalance. “What they don’t realise that it is this mentality that ‘how much will my single vote matter’ that stalls progress. Voting should be made mandatory by law here,” he adds. It’s this apathy towards voting that deprives them of the right to exercise any sizeable control over the city’s MP who knows that the only group that will exercise its franchise right religiously is those living in the slums. After all, it’s the issues that affect the slums and their resolution that bear direct relevance to the prospects of the sitting or the aspirant MP. Issues of water shortage, of power, of

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legitimacy to their shanties or business, of security from regular police or BMC raids to their business or place of work. Mumbai’s richest figure in statistics and surveys yet exercise nearly no control over political representatives who are dependent entirely on a slum population for their votes. And, the slums don’t every let them down. It isn’t without reason that Mumbai BJP unsure of tying up with partner Shiv Sena in the city, on February 11 launched the six-day ‘GaribRathYatra’ to strengthen its base among slum dwellers and migrant labourers. The party had then reached out to these audiences in all 227 civic wards of Mumbai and explain to them the schemes launched by BJP’s central and state governments for slum dwellers and the lower income strata of urban voters. After all, they’re the ones who vote in Mumbai and whose votes actually matter. * The author is the Editor of The Draft. Source: Counterview, 8 April, 2019.

APRIL 2019

SPECIAL ARTICLE

southSouth asia times 27 Asia Times

When science is put in the service of evil

he Holocaust is one of the worst collective crimes in the history of humanity – and medical science was complicit in the horrors. After World War II, evidence was given at the Nuremberg Trials of reprehensible research carried out on humans. This includes subjects being frozen, infected with tuberculosis, or having limbs amputated. There was also specific research into pharmacology that is less well-known, as can be seen from the articles we have published over the past 15 years.

Read more: Is it ethical to use data from Nazi medical experiments? The prestige of German medicine German pharmacology and chemistry enjoyed great international prestige from the second half of the 19th century. This golden age ended with the Nazi Party’s rise to power in 1933 and was replaced with institutionalised criminal behaviour in public health and human research. At the beginning of World War II, Nazi leadership saw medical and pharmaceutical research as a front-line tool to contribute to the war effort and reduce the impact of injury, disease and epidemics on troops. Nazi leaders believed concentration camps were a source of “inferior beings” and “degenerates” who could (and should) be used as research subjects. German pharmacology and medicine lost all dignity. As Louis Falstein pointed out: the Nazis prostituted law, perverted education and corrupted the civil service, but they made killers out of physicians. The rise of eugenics in central Europe at the beginning of the 20th century paved the way for the Nazi government to implement a disastrous policy of “racial hygiene”. The Aktion T4 Programme The Nazi ideology promoted the persecution of those who were considered “abnormal”, as part of the Aktion T4 program. September 1, 1939 – the date of the start of World War II – marked the beginning of the mass extermination of patients

with “deficiencies” or mental conditions, who were deemed to be “empty human shells”. At first, the crimes were carried out via carbon monoxide poisoning. In 1941, a second phase was launched: so-called “discrete euthanasia” via a lethal injection of drugs such as opiates and scopolamine (anti-neausea medication), or the use of low-doses of barbiturates to cause terminal pneumonia. These techniques were combined with food rations and turning off the hospital heating during winter. These euthanasia programmes led to what amounted to psychiatric genocide, with the murder of more than 250,000 patients. This is possibly the most heinous criminal act in the history of medicine. Experimenting with healthy subjects Medical experimentation became another tool of political power and social control, over both sick people from the T4 Program, as well as healthy people. Those in good health were recruited in the concentration camps of ostracised ethnic or social groups such as Jews, Gypsies, Slavs and homosexuals. A number of experiments were undertaken, including the study of: the effect of sulfonamides (antibiotics) on induced gas gangrene (Ravensbrück)

the use of the toxic chemical formalin for female sterilisation (AuschwitzBirkenau) the use of vaccines and other drugs to prevent or treat people intentionally infected with malaria (Dachau) the effects of methamphetamine in extreme exercise (Sachsenhausen) the anaesthetic properties of hexobarbital (a barbiturate derivative) and chloral hydrate (a sedative) in amputations (Buchenwald) the use of barbiturates and high doses of mescaline (a hallucinogenic drug) in “brainwashing” studies (Auschwitz and Dachau). Block 10 of the Auschwitz concentration camp, where medical experiments with prisoners were carried out. Francisco López Muñoz Faced with all this evidence, how it is possible that up to 45% of German doctors joined the Nazi party? No other profession reached these figures of political affiliation. What were the reasons and circumstances that led to these perverse abuses? The banality of evil in medicine The answer is difficult. Many doctors argued that regulations were designed for the benefit of the nation and not the patient. They invoked such misleading concepts as “force majeure”

or “sacred mission”. Read more: Two steps forward, one step back: how World War II changed how we do human research Some believed everything was justified by science, even the inhumane experiments carried out in the camps, while others considered themselves patriots and their actions were justified by the needs of wartime. Some were followers of the perverse Nazi ethos and others, the more ambitious, became involved in these activities as a means of promoting their professional and academic careers. Lastly, avoiding association with the Nazi apparatus may have been difficult in a health sector where fear had become a system of social pressure and control. A monument by Richard Serra in Berlin honouring of the victims of the Aktion 4 programme. Wikimedia

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Commons Arturo Pérez-Reverte, in his book Purity of Blood, defines this type of motivation very well: … although all men are capable of good and evil, the worst are always those who, when they administer evil, do so on the authority of others or on the pretext of carrying out orders. However, as has happened in many moments of history, sometimes tragedies bring positive posthumous effects. After the trial of the Nazi doctors, the first international code of ethics for research with human beings was enacted, the Nuremberg Code, under the Hippocratic precept “primun non nocere”. This code has had immense influence on human rights and bioethics. Source: The Conversation, April 11, 2019 (Under Creative Commence Licence).

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APRIL 2019

finance

APRIL 2019

southSouth asia times 29 Asia Times

What is SMSF – Part III BY Balki Balakrishnan

Costs will include both compliance costs and costs related to realizing assets. The nature of some of these costs will depend on the assets the SMSF invests in but might include brokerage or agent fees. Typically, you would expect to pay anywhere between $2,000 to $5,000 to wind up your SMSF.

e saw how to structure your SMSF in the last article in this

newspaper. The next question in most of the peoples’ mind is about the costs involved in establishing and then in running the SMSF. This article summarizes these costs in to separate areas. The costs are only indicative and would differ from one SMSF to another depending on the complexity and size of the fund.

Initial Advice Costs Before you plan to commence a SMSF, it is highly recommended that you receive Financial Advice on this matter. You should meet with a Financial Advisor/Planner especially with a planner who is a SMSF Specialist. This is because establishing a SMSF is one of the most significant decisions you can make in relation to your retirement savings and will determine the kind of lifestyle you can afford during your retirement. You can expect to pay around $2,000 for a simple set up and even may be up to $8,000 for complex set ups. The advisor will help you to understand the challenges in setting up and administering the SMSF, and advice you about your duties and obligations as a trustee of the fund. The advisor will also help you in determining whether SMSF is appropriate for you and may suggest alternatives that could achieve the same financial goals you have in mind in setting up the SMSF in the first place.

Establishment Costs As we had seen before, the SMSF can be structured under Individual Trustees or a Corporate Trustee. As explained in the previous article, for a variety of reasons you may chose Corporate Trustee structure. If you chose Corporate Trustee, you may expect to pay $1,000 to $1,200 for establishing the trustee company, for ASIC registration and for SMSF Trust Deed and other relevant documents. Your fund will be registered as a Complying Super Fund and you can apply for TFN & ABN. Ongoing Admin Cost As a trustee of SMSF, managing your own fund and getting it right all the time is very important. There are many rules and regulations in the various laws that governs the operation of your SMSF. Your ongoing administrative responsibilities will include accepting contributions and rollovers from the

members of the fund, managing your fund’s investment strategy, paying benefits to members, and meeting your reporting and administration obligations. The key decision you must make regarding ongoing management of SMSF is whether you do all these activities yourself or delegate this task to a professional administrator. There are certain costs unavoidable in the administration of your fund. Your typical unavoidable ongoing costs are in maintaining a compliant structure, and in meeting your reporting obligations. The ongoing admin cost will be determined by the complexity and size of the fund. For example, it would cost more if there are members in both Accumulation and Pension modes. Typically, the unavoidable costs are annual supervisory levy (collected by Australian Taxation Office), costs to produce an annual financial statement and tax return, the annual independent audit fee, and

when required the annual actuarial certification. These costs should be around $2,000 per annum. You can outsource these to professional SMSF administrators or seek your own accountant and the independent auditor. Professional admin costs have fallen dramatically in the last few years and typically charge $90 to $120 per month for admin and audit. The optional ongoing admin costs consist of amending the trust deed of the SMSF, professional investment advice fees, and investment management fees. As a trustee, you must adhere to the rules and know that you are ultimately responsible for the running of the funds, even if you use tax, financial and super professionals to help you manage the fund. SMSF winding up costs Every SMSF must be would up at some point in time. Winding up a SMSF can be as complex and expense as starting one.

Financial Advice costs Engaging the services of a financial advisor ensures that you get the best advice and save thousands of dollars over the life of the SMSF. Once the SMSF is commenced and is functioning, you can engage the services of a qualified financial advisor to help you with investment advice, personal risk insurance advice, strategic investment advice and finance broking when borrowing to invest. The financial advisor can also co-ordinate with the Accountant in various ways to get you the best outcomes over the life of the SMSF. Typically, it would cost you $2,000 to $3,000 for an advice depending on the complexity of the advice involved. Financials advisors with theirtechnical knowledge, the ability to offer a variety of recommendations to choose from, knowledge of different investment options and the skill to architect solutions to achieve your short- and long-term goals bring the expertise you require in managing the funds in the SMSF effectively. You must speak to a Financial Advisor who is a SMSF specialist to discuss whether an SMSF is right for you and to help you with the management of your SMSF subsequently. Be wise, Be Prepared, Be Safe!

Opes Financial Solutions Pty Ltd trading as Opes Financial Planning ACN618 122 795 is an Authorised Representative of Merit Wealth Pty Ltd AFSL 409361. Balki Balakrishnan

Director | Financial Advisor Authorised Representative Number: 409415 Merit Wealth Pty Ltd. AFSL No: 409361 M: 0419 506 560

This article contains information that is general in nature. It does not take into account the objectives, financial situation or needs of any particular person. You need to consider your financial situation and needs before making any decisions based on this information. Please contact us at 0419 506 560 if you want more information or need to review your insurance covers.

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quick community guide Radio GUIDE

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THURSDAY PUNJABI Hindi............................... 5.30 am to 7 am – 97.7 FM Sydney 97.7 FM & SBS Radio 2 9 pm – 92.3 FM Tamil.................................... 8 pm to Melbourne 93.1 FM & SBS Radio 2 Sinhalese.......................... Monday & Saturday 1 1 pm to 3 am –92.3 FM Punjabi............................. 9 pm to 10 pm – 93.1 FM 9-10 PM SINHALESE FRIDAY Sydney 97.7 FM & SBS Radio 2 Indian.................................. .8 am to 92am – 88.3 FM Melbourne 93.1 FM & SBS Radio Mon, Tue, Thu, Fri

11AM-12 PM SATURDAY Sinhalese............................ 7 am to 8 am – 92.3 FM TAMIL TSydney amil..................................... 12-12.30 97.7 FM & SBS Radio 2 pm – 88.3 FM Indian.................................... 5 am to 62am - 92.3 FM Melbourne 93.1 FM & SBS Radio Sun, Mon, Wed, Sat Punjabi.......................................... 12-2 am – 92.3 FM 8-9 PM Indian................................ 9 pm to 10 pm – 92.3 FM Punjabi.................................................. 11 pm to 1 am urdu Sydney 97.7 FM & SBS Radio24/7 2 Radio stations Melbourne FM & SBS Radio (Subscription) 2 Indian Link93.1 Radio Wednesday & Sunday 18000 15 8 47 6-7 PM Radio Santa Banta (Internet) Santabanta.com.au WORLD NEWS AUSTRALIA RADIO SydneyJhankar 1107AM88.6 & SBSFM; Radio 1 Thursday; 8 to Radio Every Melbourne 1224AM & SBS Radio 1 10 pm; Contact: 94668900 or 0411247320 or Monday & Friday 9404 2111 6-7 am & 6-7 PM

South Asian websiteS India TEHELKA – www.tehelka.com OUTLOOK – www.outlookindia.com FRONTLINE- www.flonnet.com THE HINDU: www.hinduonnet.com TIMES OF INDIA: www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com HINDUSTAN TIMES: www.hindustantimes.com Pakistan DAWN: www.dawn.com THE FRIDAY TIMES: www.thefridaytimes.com THE NEWS INTERENATIONAL: www.thenews.com.pk Sri Lanka DAILY MIRROR: www.dailymirror.lk DAILY NEWS: www.dailynews.lk THE ISLAND: www.island.lk Nepal THE HIMALAYAN TIMES: www.thehimalayantimes.com KANTIPUR NATIONAL DAILY:

PLACES OF WORSHIP HINDU Shri Shiva Vishnu Temple 57 Boundary Rd, Carrum Downs, Melbourne, Vic 3201, Ph: 03 9782 0878; Fax: 03 9782 0001 Website: www.hsvshivavishnu.org.au Sri Vakratunda Vinayaka Temple 1292 - 1294, The Mountain Highway, The Basin, Vic 3154, Ph: 03 9792 1835 Melbourne Murugan Temple 17-19 Knight Ave., Sunshine VIC 3020 Ph: 03 9310 9026 Durga Temple (Durga Bhajan Mandali) Neales Road, Rockbank, Vic 3335 Ph: 03 9747 1628 or Mobile: 0401 333 738 Hare Krishna (ISKCON) Temple 197 Danks Street, Middle Park Vic 3206 Ph: (03) 9699 5122 Email: 100237.354@compuserve.com Hare Krishna New Nandagram Rural Community Oak Hill, Dean’s Marsh Rd., Bambra VIC 3241, Ph: (052) 887383 Fax: (052) 887309 Kundrathu Kumaran Temple 139 Gray Court, ROCKBANK Victoria 3335 Ph: 03-9747 1135 or M: 0450 979 023 http://www.kumarantemple.org.au/ Sankat Mochan Temple 1289 A North Road. Huntingdale Morning: 10.30 am – 12.30 pm daily Evening: 4:30 pm – 8.00 pm daily Site: http: www.sankatmochan.org.au Contact: 0427 274 462 Shirdi Sai Sansthan 32 Hailey Avenue, Camberwell Vic 3124;Ph: (03) 9889 2974; Site: shirdisai.net.au Sai Baba Temple, 50 Camberwell Road Aum Sai Sansthan Temple 76 Albert Street (Enter From : Bear Street) MORDIALLOC VIC - 3195 Website : www.aumsai.org.au Contact : 0468 362 644

SIKH BLACKBURN Sri Guru Nanak Satsang Sabha 127 Whitehorse Road, Blackburn VICTORIA 3130, Ph: (03) 9894 1800 CRAIGIEBURN Sri Guru Singh Sabha 344 Hume Highway, Craigieburn VICTORIA 3164 (see map), Ph: (03) 9305 6511 KEYSBOROUGH Gurdwara Sri Guru Granth Sahib 198 -206 Perry Road, Keysborough VICTORIA 3073 (see map) LYNBROOK Nanaksar Taath, 430 Evans Road,

Lynbrook VICTORIA 3975, (03) 9799 1081 HOPPERS CROSSING Sri Guru Nanak Satsang Sabha 417 Sayers Road, Hoppers Crossing VICTORIA 3029, Ph: (03) 9749 2639 WERRIBEE Gurdwara Sahib Werribee 560 Davis Road, Tarneit VICTORIA 3029 PH: (03) 8015 4707 SHEPPARTON Gurdwara Sahib Shepparton 240 Doyles Road, Shepparton VICTORIA 3603 PH: (03) 5821 9309

JAIN Melbourne Shwetambar Jain Sangh Inc 3 Rice Street, Moorabbin, Vic - 3189, Australia. Phone: +61 3 9555 2439 info@melbournejainsangh.org http://www.melbournejainsangh.org

MUSLIM Melbourne West Mosque 66-68 Jeffcott Street, Melbourne Ph: 03 9328 2067 Broadmeadows Mosque 45-55 King Street, Broadmeadows Ph 03 9359 0054 Islamic Call Society 19 Michael Street, Brunswick Ph: 03 9387 7100 Islamic Centre of Australia 660 Sydney Road, Brunswick Ph 03 9385 8423 Australian Islamic Cultural Centre 46-48 Mason Street, Campbellfield Ph: 03 9309 7605 Coburg ISNA Mosque 995 Sydney Road, Coburg North Coburg Mosque (Fatih Mosque) 31 Nicholson Street, Coburg Ph 03 9386 5324 Deer Park Mosque 283 Station Road, Deer Park Ph 03 9310 8811 United Migrant Muslim Assn. 72 George Road, Doncaster Ph 03 9842 6491, Footscray West Mosque 294 Essex Street, Footscray Glenroy Musala 1st Floor, 92 Wheatsheaf Road, Glenroy Heidelberg Mosque Corner Lloyd & Elloits Streets, West Heidelberg Islamic College of Victoria (Mosque) 201 Sayers Road, Hoppers Crossing Ph 03 9369 6010 Huntingdale Mosque 320-324 Huntingdale Road, Huntingdale Ph 03 9543 8037 Al Nur Mosque 34-36 Studley Street, Maidstone Meadow Heights Mosque Hudson Circuit, Meadow Heights Springvale Mosque 68 Garnworthy Street, Springvale

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APRIL 2019

EMERGENCY CONTACTS EMERGENCY CONTACTS Police, Fire & Abulance ........................ 000 Victoria State Emergency Service (SES)....................................... 132 500 Traffic hazards and freeway conditions.......................... 13 11 70 Gas escape........................................... 132 771 Poisons information........................ 13 11 26 Maternal and Child Line................ 13 22 29 Parentline........................................... 13 22 89 Kids Help Line......................... 1800 551 800 Lifeline (provides confidential telephone counselling)................. 13 11 14 Suicide Help Line.................... 1300 651 251 Animal Emergencies.................. 9224 2222

INDIAN CONSULATE Indian Consulate Address: 344, St. Kilda Road, Melbourne, VIC 3000, Australia P.O. Box No: 33247 Domain LPO Vic 3004 Consular Enquiries: +61-3-9682 5800 (9.30am-12.30noon only) General Enquiries (other than Consular): +61-3- 9682 7836 Fax No:+ 61-3- 9696 8251 Email: consular@cgimelb.org Web site: www.cgimelb.org Indian Consulate Consular services are handled by VFS Global Visa / Passport / PCC / IDLV / PIO / OCI services contact VFS +61 2 8223 9909. Address: Part 4 Suite, Level 12, 55 Swanston Street, Melbourne VIC 3000 Site : www.vfsglobal.com/india/australia/ Services handled by Indian Consulate Melbourne itself: OCI Misc. services, Registration of Birth, Birth Certificate, Renunciation of Indian Citizenship, Surrender of Indian Passport, New Passport Details on PIO, Transfer of Valid Visas, Marriage Certificate, Affidavit for Applying Child’s Passport in India, Documents Attestation.) Student Welfare Officer in the Indian Consulate Melbourne Consulate General of India, Melbourne Address: 344, St. Kilda Road, Melbourne, VIC – 3000 Phone: 03-96826203 Fax: 03-96968251 Email: cgo@cgimelb.org Website: www.cgimelb.orgExternal website that opens in a new window Contact person for Students welfare: Mr. Nirmal K. Chawdhary Designation: Deputy Consul General Mobile: 0430020828

HIGH COMMISSION FOR PAKISTAN,CANBERRA 4 Timbarra Crescent, O’Malley ACT 2606 (Australia), Tel: 61-2-62901676, 61-2-62901676, 62902769, 62901879 & 62901031, Fax: 61-262901073 Email: parepcanberra@internode. on.net, Postal Address: PO Box 684, Mawson ACT 2607 (Australia)

southSouth asia times 33 Asia Times

quick community guide VIEW POINT

South Asia Times

APRIL 2019

contd from previous page Suite 536, No 1 Queens Road,

Sri Lanka Consulate Melbourne VIC 3004 Telephone: +61 3 9290 4200 Fax: +61 3 9867 4873 Email:mail@slcgmel.org Web: http://www.slcgmel.org

Bangladesh High Commission, Canberra 43, Culgoa Circuit, O’Malley, ACT-2606 Canberra, Australia, Ph: (61-2) 6290-0511, (61-2) 6290-0522, (61-2)6290-0533 (Auto hunting). Fax : (61-2) 6290-0544 E-Mail :hoc@bhcanberra.com

Consulate of Nepal, Melbourne Email: cyonzon@nepalconsulate.net.au Level 7, 28-32 Elizabeth Street, Melbourne VIC 3000, Ph: (03) 9650 8338 Email: info@nepalconsulate.net.au

TV GUIDE SBS1 – Daily NDTV News - 11:05 am - Monday to Saturday. (From New Delhi, India). Urdu news SBS1 - PTV News – 9.30 am - Every Sunday – (From Pakistan).

SOUTH ASIAN Garments Roshan’s Fashions 68-71 Foster Street, Dandenong, Vic 3175 Ph: (03) 9792 5688

Vic 3175, Ph: (03) 9791 9227 Site: heritageindia.net.au

DVDs, Music CDs & Film Stuff Baba Home Entertainment 52C Foster St., Dandenong 3175, (03) 97067252

Travel Agents Gaura Travels 1300 FLY INDIA or 1300 359 463 info@gauratravel.com.au Travel House 284 Clayton Road, Clayton 3168 Ph: (03) 95435123, Mobile: 0425803071 mail@travelhouse.com.au

lAWYERS MLG Lawyers Ronny Randhawa 144 Sydney Road, Coburg Vic Ph 9386 0204 & 138 Walker Street, Dandenong Vic Ph: 9793 9917 Mobile : 0402 256 712 Vera Lawyers Kusum Vaghela Level 1, Suite 2, 373 Lonsdale Street, Dandenong Vic, Mobile: 0433 827 124

Jewellery Bhadra Laxman Jewellers 22ct Gold Jewellery / Silver Pooja (03) 9846 7661

Raj Rani Creations 83-A Foster Street, Dandenong, Vic 3175 Ph: (03) 9794 9398 desi estyle 76 Foster St., Dandenong 3175 (03) 87744853; 0413707685 Heritage India 54-56 Foster Street, Dandenong,

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south asia 34 South Asia Timestimes

australia

APRIL 2019

Words that matter. What’s a franking credit? What’s dividend imputation? And what’s ‘retiree tax’? By Peter Martin*

ou’re forgiven for being confused. Newspapers need to economise on words. Television and radio reporters need to economise on seconds. So they use shorthand: words like “dividend imputation”, “franking credits”, and yes, “retiree tax”. Which is fine if you already know what they mean, and pretty fine if you don’t, because you probably don’t need to. They speed things along. Until now. Suddenly, because of their prominence in the upcoming election campaign, we are going to have to know what they mean. We are even going to have to know that one of them doesn’t mean what it seems to mean. The election might depend on it. So here goes: Taxable profits If a company’s income exceeds its expenses, it has made a profit, which in ordinary circumstances is taxed at the legislated rate, which for big companies such as Telstra and the big banks is 30 cents in the dollar. Dividends After the tax is taken out, companies can pay some of what’s left to shareholders as a dividend, one for each share. Last September Telstra paid shareholders a dividend of 15.5 cents per share. The previous March it was 11 cents. Income tax Australians pay tax on what they earn, unless the income is classified as not taxable or is below the A$18,200 tax-free threshold. The marginal rate (the rate on extra income) climbs with income, so that anyone earning more than A$180,000 (the top threshold) pays 45 cents on each extra dollar earned. Dividends are taxable and so are taxed along with other income. Dividend imputation In 1987 in what he hailed

as a world first, Labor treasurer Paul Keating introduced a rebate for each each tax-paying dividend recipient. Taken off their tax would be the company tax the company had paid on the part of the profit that had been handed to them as a dividend. It would greatly reduce the existing bias in the tax system which taxed interest income once, but dividend income twice. Here’s how it would work at today’s tax rates. Jill owns 1,000 Telstra shares Over the period of a year she gets dividends of A$265 To provide them, Telstra made a profit of A$379 on which it paid A$114 tax Jill pays tax on the full $379 but gets a credit of A$114 that can be taken off any other tax she owes that year As with other tax credits, it can be used to cut Jill’s tax bill as far as zero, but not to turn it negative. It can’t be handed to her in cash. As Keating put it, the tax paid at the company level would be imputed, or allocated to shareholders by means of imputation credits. But not to all of them. Non-resident (overseas) shareholders couldn’t get them, and nor could shareholders whose dividends hadn’t been franked. Franking credits As Keating explained, the tax credit only applied to the extent to which full Australian company tax had been paid; to the extent to which the dividends had been franked (stamped) to indicate that tax had been paid. Not every company pays the full 30 cents in the dollar in every year. Often it is carrying forward previous losses. Only dividends from profits on which full tax had actually been paid were to be marked “fully franked”. Dividends on which tax had been partly paid were to be marked “partly franked”. Fully franked dividends became sought after, because they brought with them the biggest franking credits. In a useful side

effect, dividend imputation encouraged companies that wanted to look after their shareholders to pay full tax. Refunds to non taxpayers Although the particular Australian design arguably was a world first, dividend imputation or something similar is not unusual. Many countries have systems in place that to a greater or lesser degree ensure company profits are taxed only once – among them Canada, New Zealand, Chile, Mexico, Malaysia and Singapore, whose system is called “one-tier” tax. Many that did adopt it later moved away from it, using the money saved to cut headline tax rates; among them Britain, Ireland Germany and France. What is unusual is what Australia did next. In 2001 after more than a decade of dividend imputation, the Howard government supercharged it, paying out franking credits in cash to shareholders who didn’t have any or enough tax to offset. From the point of the view of these non-taxpayers, dividend imputation became a negative income tax: instead of them paying the government money, the government paid them money. As far as is known, it is an enhancement that has not been copied anywhere. On one hand, it makes sense because it treats non-taxpayers the same as taxpayers by refunding them the same amount of company tax. On the other hand, it does not make sense because it means that instead of being taxed once (at either the company or the personal level) as was the original intention, company profits can escape tax altogether. Untaxed super From 2007 the change mattered to many more retirees. The Howard government’s “Simplified Superannuation” package made super benefits paid from a taxed source (that’s most super benefits outside of the public service) tax free

when paid to people aged 60 and over. A quirk in the wording of the Act went further. Not only did super withdrawals become tax free, they also became no longer included in “taxable income” and so didn’t need to be declared on tax forms. This meant that many retirees on reasonable super incomes were no longer taxed at reasonable rates on their other income, including income from shares which could be untaxed if it fell below the tax free threshold. And because of the 2001 decision to send dividend imputation cheques to shareholders who were untaxed, these retirees who suddenly found themselves untaxed also got imputation cheques mailed to them from the government. Self-managed super funds, whose income is tax exempt in the retirement phase, also got imputation cheques. In July 2017 the Turnbull government wound back tax free super by placing a limiting it to accounts with less than A$1.6 million. The restriction was to hit 1% of super-fund members. Labor’s proposal Treasury’s 2015 tax discussion paper prepared for the Abbott government referred to “revenue concerns” about dividend imputation cheques. They cost the budget just A$550 million in the year the Howard government introduced them, but A$5 billion per year by 2018 and were on track to cost A$8 billion. Labor’s proposal, announced in mid March 2018, was to return the divided imputation system to where it had been before Howard changed it in 2001, and to where it still is elsewhere. Tax credits could be used to eliminate a tax payment but not to turn it negative. Labor allowed exceptions for tax exempt bodies such as charities and universities who would continue to receive imputation cheques alongside dividends. Pensioner guarantee Two weeks later, in late

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March, Labor amended its policy by adding a “pensioner guarantee”. Pension and allowance recipients, even part pensioners, would be exempt from the changes and would continue to receive cash payments. Also exempt would be self-managed super funds with at least one member who was receiving a government pension or part-pension at the date of Labor’s announcement, 28 March 2018. The change cost relatively little (the budget saving over the next four years fell to A$10.7 billion from A$11.4 billion) because most of the imputation cheques go to Australians with too much wealth to get even a part pension. Self Managed Super Funds Retail and industry super funds pool their members contributions, and so almost always have tax to reduce, meaning most would be unaffected by the withdrawal of cash credits. Self Managed funds usually represent just one person, or a couple; their funds aren’t pooled with anyone else’s. This means that in the retirement phase, where fund earnings are untaxed, most do not have enough tax to reduce. So they get imputation cheques, which they would no longer get when Labor’s policy was implemented. The Parliamentary Budget Office expects some selfmanaged funds to change their investment mix and some owners of selfmanaged funds to transfer their investments to retail or industry funds. Retirement tax There is no such thing. The phrase is shorthand for Labor’s proposal to withdraw dividend imputation cheques from dividend recipients who are outside the tax system. *Visiting Fellow, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University. SOURCE: The Conversation, 11 February, 2019. (Under Creative Commons Licence).

southSouth asia times 35 Asia Times

APRIL 2019

Sangeet Sandhya Open forum for music lovers – classical, semi-classical & film music

Saturday 2.2.19 -

Gia Pndit (vocal)

Saturday 6.4.19 Saturday 1.6.19 Saturday 3.8.19 -

TBA Shraddhanand Reddy (vocal) Hashmat (vocal)

Saturday 5.10.19 - Radhey Shyam Gupta (sitar) Saturday 7.12.19 - Shubhangi Pandey (vocal)

Swar Sandhya Open forum for music lovers; Karaoke – Popular Indian Music Bring your own music, perform and enjoy

Saturday 5.1.19 Saturday 4.5.19 Saturday 7.9.19

Saturday 2.3.19 Saturday 6.7.19 Saturday 2.11.19

Venue: Brandon Park Primary School,

Time: 8.00pm

1-5 Ninevah Cr Wheelers Hill Free Entry, with ample parking, Free tea, coﬀee and biscuits Contact: Phone- 0402 074 208 or 0407 559 113 email- sangeetswarsandhya@gmail.com www.facebook.com/sangeetsandhya

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south asia 36 South Asia Timestimes

CINEMA

APRIL 2019

Bangladeshi Filmmaker Revisits the 1947 Partition of Bengal Was partition necessary? By P. K. Balachandra

or decades the veteran Bangladeshi filmmaker TanvirMokammel had been troubled by one question: Why was Bengal, known for its passion for the Bengali language, literature and culture, divided in 1947 on religious lines? Born in 1955, eight years after the vivisection of his homeland, Tanvir should have had no problem with the division which was a fait accompli by then. But being a man of the arts, a film maker and an author, he was unable to take the division in his stride and get on with his life as a Bangladeshi distinct from the West Bengali. He was in utter disbelief when he learnt of the tearing hurry in which the thoughtless division of Bengal was carried out by the British even as they were on their way out; and of the sordid connivance of selfserving leaders of the Muslim League and the Congress in that act. Tanvir was distressed by the violence, arson, looting and exodus of millions of Hindus and Muslims across a hurriedly and irrationally drawn border by a British Official Sir Cyril Radcliff, who had no clue about the complexities of Bengal’s geographical and social fabric. The questions which tormented Tanvir were: Was partition necessary? Was there an alternative to it which could have been explored? Who gained and who lost by the division and the two-way exodus? It was not until the second half of the 1990s, that Tanvir got to make a film on partition. “Quiet Flows the River Chitra” on the plight of a Hindu family which refused to migrate to India upon partition, came in 1998. It was a 114 minute feature film on the 16 mm format. But convinced that there was much more to partition than what he told through “Quiet Flows the River Chitra”, Tanvir came back to partition years later, this time with a magnum opus, a two and a half hour documentary “Shimonthorekha” (The Border Line). “Shimonthorekha” was shown in Colombo as part of the three-day Bangladeshi film festival organized by the Bangladesh High Commission between March 29 and 31. Tanvir said that he had few resources when he launched the project to find out from

original sources, what partition meant to common people – ranging from farmers and fishermen to government servants, novelists and musicians. He interviewed a wide crosssection of families from both West Bengal and Bangladesh and asked them how they viewed the past and the present vis-à-vis partition. The findings were as complex as they were interesting. Some of the interviewees were still traumatized by the past in which they were eyewitnesses of mobs killing or maiming their near and dear ones and making an inferno of their properties. They remembered with horror, the hazardous journey to the border and the squalor of the refugee camps. But there were others who said that bygones should be bygones and recalled the good things that marked their lives before the 1946, 1947 and subsequent riots which forced Hindus to flee East Pakistan or Bangladesh. Interestingly, there was no sign of communal rancor among the interviewees on either side of the border even among those who were hounded by rioters. All of them said that riots were an aberration as before the riots, Hindus and Muslims lived in perfect harmony. They recalled incidents and festivities across the religious divide in which they happily participated willingly. Even though the documentary was made on a shoe-string budget, Tanvir not only shot in the two Bengals (Bangladesh and West Bengal

in India) but in various other places in India which were impacted by the partition and the exodus of people. The lives of refugees, who were re-located far-flung places in India such as Assam, Tripura, the Andaman Islands, the Dandakaranya forests in Odisha and even in Nainital in Uttar Pradesh, were portrayed. People in these diverse places retraced their past, their joys and sorrows, hopes and aspirations in their adopted homes, giving the viewers an authentic picture of the human aspects of the partition of the Indian subcontinent. A First Tanvir did another first: He brought refugees from both sides of the border to their natal villages or localities in the two countries. Despite the time lag, most locals recognized at least the families of the returning migrants if not the visitors themselves. And in all cases, they hit it off with the visitors once memories were re-kindled. Did partition create an insurmountable barrier between the Bengali-speaking Hindus and Muslims? As per the comments made by the interviewees, the answer is

a firm “no”. The two sides can still communicate with each other with ease, as there is much that is common, despite inroads of exclusivist ideologies like Wahabism among the Muslims and Hindutva among the Hindus. Sadly, the Muslims and the Hindus of Bengal are now increasingly subject to periodic communal political mobilization. Competing nationalisms have created groups to define themselves clearly from the “other”. According to Tanvir, under Bangladesh National Party regimes, the Bangladeshi State was communal, partly because the BNP was allied to the radical Jamaat-e-Islami. But under the Awami League led by Sheikh Hasina, the State is secular and tolerant but the masses, especially in the rural areas, are coming under the influence of Wahabism. Rural people who go to the Middle East for work come back indoctrinated with Wahabism. But despite the ever-present danger from the Wahabists, filmmakers of Bangladesh have been tackling bold and controversial themes woven around Hindu-Muslim relations. Not surprisingly, few on either side of the international border thought that partition should be undone. “The horrendous partition riots and periodic outbursts thereafter instigated by politicians, had created uncertainties in the minds of the Hindus and a division was thought to be unavoidable,” Tanvir said. Migration also led to better opportunities and prosperity. Hindu refugees from

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Bangladesh admitted that they had gained by their decision to move across the border even though in 1947, it was a leap into the unknown under very unsettled conditions. Hindus from the villages of East Bengal/ East Pakistan/ Bangladesh, who settled down in the towns of West Bengal especially the bustling metropolis of Kolkata, acquired an education and seized new opportunities for advancement. Likewise, Bengali Muslims who migrated to East Pakistan from India, got new opportunities in a new country and occupied middle level and high places previously occupied mostly by Hindus. However, sadly, the vestiges of partition still remain, though only in an attenuated form. Many of the abjectly poor refugees still remain poor. They are categorized as “Permanent Liabilities” and kept in special “PL camps” in West Bengal. According to “Shimonthorekha”, movement of Bangladeshis across the border still happens, though it is now more due to economic push factors. And many of those who cross the border are Muslims seeking work in India. An estimated 630 Bangladeshis leave for India per day, the film says. The downside is that the irregular, illegal and temporary migrants or those who indulge in illegal trade, get mercilessly shot at by the Indian Border Security Force (BSF). Bangladeshis bitterly complain that the Indian official and judicial systems do not take into account the human aspects of border crossing which is not always done by criminals, smugglers and terrorists. Tanvir himself has a dual view on the partition of Bengal. One the one hand, he recognizes the advantages of the division in terms of the opportunities it has provided for the Muslims who had to put up with Hindu domination under the Sena kings and later under the British. But as an artiste, he is distressed by the division of Bengali speakers, as both Hindu and Muslim Bengalis are passionate about the Bengali language and Bengali culture. “Shimonthorekha” is disturbing in parts but it does give the hope that the two Bengals will relate to each other even as they remain separate entities in the comity of nations. Source: The Citizen, 10 April, 2019.

SPORTS

APRIL 2019

southSouth asia times 37 Asia Times

AFL moves ahead to promote Footyat the Australian Sikh Games- 2019 By SAT News Desk

ELBOURNE, 11 April: The Australian Football League (AFL), is all set to promote and organise the first ever Australian Football Rules tournament at the 32nd Australian Sikh Games 2019,April 19-21, Casey fields, Melbourne. As part of its National Indian Engagement Strategy, the AFL has secured a 3-year partnership with the Australian Sikh Games organising committee to be part of the Games from 2018 -2020. Through this tournament, the AFL feels, its ‘greatest opportunity to connect and engage the community focusing on fan and participation outcomes.’ Six AFL clubs (Melbourne FC, North Melbourne FC, Adelaide FC, GWS FC, Essendon FC and the St.Kilda FC) will have Indian centric teams and about 40 plus intending players have

been registered. ‘They will be distributed into the six teams and the tournament held during the games,’ says Ankit Sarin, AFL. “At the Australian Sikh Games, AFL will be running a 9-a-side competition for players over the age of 14. Between the six AFL clubs,

we hope to have teams of around nine players representing each Club over the 3-day event, “says the media release. Talking to SAT Avtar Singh, AFL said, “AFL 9’s rules apply andeach game will be of total 30 minutes divided into 12 minutes each two halves with a six

minutes break at the half time.” “Our aim is to promote the AFL among Indian origin people by participating in the Sikh Games,” he said/ AFL will provide ground managers, umpires and scorers for the event. To engage the younger population, AFL will be

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running an AFL Auskick activation on Friday 19, alongside the AFL competition,” says an AFL media release. The annual Australian Sikh Games are a sporting and cultural event targeting the Australian Sikh community. Every year the games are held in a different capital city and in some major regional areasaround Australia. Players and spectators from all over the country and overseas, including NewZealand, Malaysia, Singapore, Canada and the U.K. come to participate in a wide array of traditionalIndian and Australian sports events. The Australian Sikh games draw crowds of up to 50, 000 – 60,000 people over three days, with plenty of activities for the family outside of the sporting contest. The games commenced in 1987 when members of the Sikh community decided to host a hockeytournament.

south asia 38 South Asia Timestimes

PIX ESSAY

APRIL 2019

At the Mighty Bombers home base

ssendon Football Club's home base is located at the 275 Melrose Drive, Melbourne Airport. I was there recently at this massive complex for a media conference and my friend Sudip Chakraborty,

AFL & EFC Community Officer at the Essendon Football Club&Secretary General at the AFL India took me around in a hurried tour where I took a few pictures for SAT readers. â&#x20AC;&#x201D;SAT Editor.

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MUSINGS

APRIL 2019

southSouth asia times 39 Asia Times

Juggernaut on the March By Rashid Sultan

lections in India have been announced and the South Asia Times is also observing a ‘Moral Code’and, therefore, will not offer any comment or views till the elections are over. We are simply reporting events during the electioneering without knowing if these small things would turn into something bigger. Please do not worry about the chronology of events. # In Grugram( formally Gurgaon) on the Holi day, drunks wearing saffron clothes ask Muslim children, playing cricket outside their house to stop playing and when,children not obliging, enter into their two storied house,attack women and children with sticks and rods, and shouting ‘go to Pakistan’. A teen-aged girl photographs the beatings from the second floor. One gets arrested, the others are absconding. # In Charkhi, Daadri (yes, the notorious Dadri), a father and son, driving a scooter, are stopped, beaten and forced to chant ‘Jai Shri Ram’.

#Another Muslim family is waylaid on the highway and beaten and forced to chant ‘Jai Shri Ram’ and ‘Pakistan Murdabaad’. # In Palghar a rickshaw driver is attacked. His crime ? He was Muslim. # A truck carrying 12 buffalos from Chunar to Unnao is attacked by cow vigilantes. The driver and cleaner, both Muslims, jump into a river to escape lynching. The driver dies of drowning and the cleaner in hospital fighting for life. # Amit Shah, the president of BJP warns that if BJP loses in this election, there would be celebrations in Pakistan. #The CPI announces candidature of Kanhaiyya Kumar (Former President of the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students Union) from Begusarai. #The Mahagathbandan in Bihar, contrary to expectations, declare Tanveer Hasan (RJD) as their candidate from Begusarai thus, initiating a triangular fight. #Griraj Singh, after initially refusing to fight election from Begusarai against Kanhayyia Kumar agrees, finally, to contest

from there. His first volley to voters is ‘people not voting for BJP must go to Pakistan’. # Kanhaiyya Kumar manages to collect 30 lakh of rupees in one day after his nomination. # Estimated BJP budget in this election-6000 crores # Estimated budget of all the other political parties combined is not even 10% per cent of BJP’s budget: Peanuts, according to an election watcher. # Hema Malini regains her ticket for her old seat of Mathura. Estimated expenditure? A whopping 250 crores! # Raj Babbar, the UP Congress president gets Fatehpur Sikri to fight. No funds- according to a Congress leader. #A political analyst has described this fight as between a David and a Goliath. # Ashok Chavan, the former chief minister of Maharashtra, is heard on a private recording of his decision to resign from Congress as he is not being given freedom to nominate candidates. # After years of animosity and brutal criticism of

the BJP, the Shiv Sena and the BJP join ranks to fight unitedly. This time the Shiv Sena gets more seats than the last time. #A central minister, for a TV panel discussion, appears wrapped in Tringaaka some BJP spokesmen in Indian army uniform last month on TV. # After 5 years of rule, Ram Mandir gets a political space again, during BJP rallies. #After Rahul Gandhi’s oftrepeated Chowkidar Chor Hai slogan, the P.M and his ministers adopt Main Bhi Chowkider for few days without any perceptible effect. # Kalyan Singh, the current governor of Rajasthan and former chief minister of U.P (when Babari Masjid was demolished) attends a BJP rally and exhorts people to make Narendra Modi the prime minister again. # The Congress claims it is a breach of not only ethical code during election process but also a partisan act by a governor who is, under Constitution, supposed to be apolitical like President of India. # The Congress releases

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its manifesto outlining, mainly, their economic policies. No mention of Rashtravaad or religious issues. # Rahul Gandhi announces a minimum guaranteed income for the poorest population where 5 crore Indians would get at least Rs 72,000 every year from the coffers. # Stalwarts like L K Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi do not get a ticket as they are over 75 years old. # Sumitra Mahajan, the speaker of the Lok Sabha, and an MP from Indorefor 6 terms withdraws in humiliation as her name has not been announced after waiting for so long. #Raghu Ram Rajan, the former RBI governor has cast doubt on the the country’s growth rate of 7% announced by Niti Aayog. According to him, as the unemployment has reached its record high in the last 45 years, so growth rate cannot be correct. He recommends this should be looked into by a panel of independent experts and not Niti Aayog which has become a part of the government since Modi took over.

south asia 40 South Asia Timestimes

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APRIL 2019