Australian decentralisation – lip service

November 13th, 2013

I just did a little regional/capital city cost-of-living comparison test.  Entering your postcode into a certain bed retailer’s website brings up the price locals are charged. The average mattress (not a bulky bedframe, just a mattress), costs Townsville customers $200 more than a Sydney resident. Are these mattresses made in Sydney? Maybe they are – […]

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Goods & Services Tax (GST) – we don’t want an increase, Julia

October 12th, 2010

A New Zealand customer told me the other day that the NZ GST has just been raised from 12% to 15%; up from the original figure of 10%. Here’s hoping Julia Gillard can keep her hand out of our till and resist doing likewise.  Our 10% goods & services tax was a great improvement on the […]

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Remote Area Zone Tax Rebate – Now’s our chance to fix it

August 31st, 2010

The Remote Area Tax Rebate, or ‘Zone Tax Offset’ as it has been called most recently, needs raising so that it accurately reflects the true cost of living and working in remote areas of Australia

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The cost of living in remote areas & the Zone Tax Offset

May 28th, 2009

This week the Queensland Government has been talking about scrapping the fuel subsidy. This is a very sensible idea – blanket subsidies (such as the first home owners grant) are hugely expensive, are being paid to those who don’t need financial assistance (not just those who do), and only distort market forces (and create inefficiencies […]

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