Ban on $10,000 cash purchases set to become law despite concerns

February 29, 2020February 29, 2020 / caa4nsw

WHY does the Morrison Coalition Government not root out and stop all property money laundering instead? Cough … cough …

WHEN only as recently as October 2018 the Morrison Coalition Government exempted the Real Estate Gatekeepers from the Second Tranche of the AML Laws … disgraceful!

-hence the resurge of buyers from China and Hong Kong …locking out our FHBs

(Real Estate Agents, Lawyers, Accountants and Conveyancers = Gatekeepers)

AND the other issue of hidden political cash donations … ?

NOW not only the Real Estate Gatekeepers have been flourishing in money laundering but it emerges Funeral Directors too … apart from Tradies, and some notorious ‘ethnic’ communities who launder in our Real Estate …

WHY pick on ‘Pensioners’? ... What are they doing with wads of $10,000 in cash anyway?

ON another level, is the Government moving ahead with negative rates, and making customers pay the banks to hold their money?

Ban on $10,000 cash purchases set to become law despite concerns

By Rob Harris

February 28, 2020

View all comments

A controversial bill to ban cash payments over $10,000 and impose two-year jail sentences on those caught using cash above that limit is poised to pass Federal Parliament despite bitter divisions within both major parties.

The Morrison government is set to win support from Labor to legislate the controversial crackdown, which is likely to be opposed by the entire Senate crossbench from the Greens to One Nation.

A controversial ban on cash purchases over $10,000 is set to pass Parliament despite unrest among government MPs.CREDIT:LOUISE KENNERLEY

*The proposal has been criticised by tradespeople, pensioners and some ethnic communities, with government MPs reporting a fierce backlash from within their own branches over the laws.

*Some Labor MPs have also expressed reservations over the laws, aimed at cracking down on crime syndicates that launder money through the black-market economy.

But the opposition will likely vote in favour of the laws when a Senate committee inquiry hands down a recommendation that the bill be supported on Friday.

Assistant Minister Michael Sukkar has moved to quell unrest among the Coalition party room over the bill in the face of a torrent of criticism from backbench MPs as well as party members who believe the crackdown on cash is a breach of the government’s stated belief in the free market.

Businesses are pushing back on the government's plan to ban cash transactions of more than $10,000.

SMALL BUSINESS

*Funeral directors say cash ban could hit people ‘at their lowest point’

Mr Sukkar said the laws were a recommendation from the government’s Black Economy Taskforce as a way to stop criminal gangs using large cash purchases of cars, houses and jewellery to launder their gains from illegal activities.

“The key focus of the bill is reducing the ease with which organised crime gangs can operate throughout the country,” Mr Sukkar said.

Government sources told The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald they were prepared to call the bluff of Coalition senators and the “tin foil hat brigade” who might cross the floor on the issue.

A video recording of Mr Frydenberg being asked about the cash ban at a Liberal Party function in Brisbane last week shows the Treasurer pressed on what the government hoped to achieve from the move.

He said the government was acting on recommendations of its own black economy task force.

“This was really to go to the heart of the issue of ensuring there’s less of a black economy and more of an economy sticking to the right rules,” he said.

The Greens have told supporters it is also opposed to the ban, drawing on some of the internal criticisms made by rank-and-file members of the Liberal Party.

“The bill is a case of the cure being worse than the disease,” the Greens have told supporters in emails seen by The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald.

“The bill would criminalise the use of legal tender. In doing so, the bill challenges the freedoms that hard currency provides and lays a path towards further restrictions on the use of cash and even negative interest rates.”

Assistant Treasurer Michael Sukkar, has privately criticised the plan to his Liberal colleagues out of frustration that he inherited the proposal from the last term of Parliament.

EXCLUSIVE

CASH ECONOMY

‘Antithetical to our Liberal principles’: MPs move to prevent $10,000 cash ban

While the Australian Tax Office wants to stamp out the “black economy” by curbing large cash payments, critics said the cost would be far greater than the benefits if Australians were banned from using more than $10,000 in cash.

Rank-and-file Liberal Party members have expressed privacy concerns over the new laws while those also against the change include the Housing Industry Association, NSW Farmers, the Australian Dental Association and big retail groups that say customers like to save cash to make big payments.

Rob Harris

Rob Harris is the National Affairs Editor for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, based at Parliament House in Canberra

SOURCE: https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/ban-on-10-000-cash-purchases-set-to-become-law-despite-concerns-20200227-p5453n.html?fbclid=IwAR0RyPDkIRcsfjZTbmvzb7hjhpYHflR9Q1wE2_5xPkNlrK6E-94dxn4xrjU#comments

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ITs Time to Call Out CHINAs BS

February 29, 2020February 29, 2020 / caa4nsw

WOW! SERPENTZA in this short Video covers it! CHINA has a lot to answer for!

WHY is it we give China such an easy pass?

SHARE … AND Share some more with your Pollies … because Serpentza runs rings around ’em!

SYNOPSIS …

-China’s incredible growth; massive cities; skyscrapers; infrastructure; HSR;

-quality of life greatly improved for those in the cities

-all the infrastructure and buildings at a massive cost to the environment in China and across the globe (CO2 emissions)

–70% of arable land in China contaminated; rivers too!

–pollution esp. northern China so horrendous masks must be worn; all homes use air purifiers

CHINA over decades has had a detrimental impact on the rest of the World …

-China single handed has caused a massive hole in the Ozone Layer

.scientists were baffled why the Ozone Layer was not healing

.they traced the source back to the eastern coast of China where clandestine factories were using banned chemicals leading to the hole in the Ozone Layer

SERPENTZA ASKS THE QUESTION …

WHY do the Greta Thunbergs of this World refuse to point the finger to the country which is causing most harm to our planet?

WE keep applauding the massive rise, the infrastructure, raising millions out of poverty ignoring the fact the CCP is why those people were in poverty in the first place!

–the majority live in the countryside or the lower tier cities at a hair’s breath above real poverty

–China has completely outfished the waters off the coast of China

-the alternatives are the rest of the World; its clandestine fishing has diminished the fish stocks off South Africa …

WHY is it that China gets a free pass? Where are the Greta Thunbergs on how China is disproportionately stripping the oceans; outstripping the World oceans of its fish? It’s a take now before it’s all gone mentality

WHY is it that we give China a free pass on this?

Where have all the lions, tigers … why is it that rare endangered creatures around the World are poached?

–China’s medicine is your answer! B.S.

WHAT about the current Pandemic? The exact cause has to be determined

-the spread of these pathogens are turbo boosted by the absolute lack of hygiene

.public spitting, snotting, urinating and lack of hand washing, and covering mouths when coughing or sneezing

.the wet markets where people pick and prod the meat

.the universal spread of the virus by people travelling abroad; and slipped by detection measures beggars belief

WHY are institutions like the WHO scrambling to find a way to make sure the World does not blame China?

WHERE are the Greta Thunbergs of the World on this? Mind you she probably likes the idea that the World’s Economy will take a massive hit, and that factories can’t be running! So we should not look to her!

WHERE is the outrage from the rest of the World?

Why is it that we are not pointing a finger at China, and telling the CCP to clean up its act?

CHINA is exporting environmental disaster across the planet. Africa is being disseminated; seas outfished; the planet on which we rely for survival is disproportionately under attack by one nation!

IT’s time we held them to task! Time to stop giving them a free pass on all its transgressions. Time to take a stand against the CCP, and the damage it has caused the World.

At the same time this is not a call for us to be rude or ignorant towards Chinese people

-it is the CCP we should hold to task on all its transgressions

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Migration agents shamed as temporary visa tsunami fuels slavery

February 28, 2020February 28, 2020 / caa4nsw

Migration Alliance has more than 4000 members to muscle … to maintain the exploitation of Visa workers … one wonders how many more exploited Visa workers are out there … ?

Contrary to this ‘alliance’ Unions have helped Visa workers gain better pay and conditions … have helped Visa Workers obtain compensation … who in fact are playing ‘dirty politics’?

What an awful corrupt nation Australia has become since WHO took the reins … ?

Migration agents shamed as temporary visa tsunami fuels slavery

By Leith van Onselen in International Students

February 28, 2020 | 8 comments

Earlier this month, the peak lobby group for Australia’s registered migration agents – Migration Alliance – attacked Labor’s immigration spokesperson, Kristina Keneally, for claiming that the explosion in temporary visas across the Australian economy was creating exploitation, undercutting local workers and contributing to Australia’s chronically low wage growth:

Labor’s home affairs spokeswoman Kristina Keneally.

[Keneally’s] views drew the ire of Migration Alliance, which has more than 4000 members and represents registered migration agents in Australia, with the group telling the senator to “stop playing dirty politics”.
“Effectively what Senator Keneally is trying to do is rob New Zealanders, international students, and working holidaymakers from countries such as Canada, the UK, Ireland, France, South Korea and Japan of the opportunity to live and work in Australia,” Migration Alliance said.
“It is abundantly clear that Senator Keneally is the foghorn for the unions. The unions have long detested the working holidaymaker program, and have been pushing to have it abandoned for years.”

Two days later, another 70 migrant workers participating in a Federal Government-led seasonal workers program were found to have been exploited and living in “Slum-like living conditions” in Tasmania.

Now, another case of exploitation has been uncovered with 90 foreign workers found illegally packing asparagus and broccoli grown on the Koo Wee Rup farm:

Seasonal Worker Programme participants, from Vanuatu, harvest asparagus at Kooweerup, in Victoria.

A Gippsland vegetable grower and his associates have been committed to stand trial over more than 100 alleged breaches of the Migration Act.

Giuseppe Vizzarri, Sarith Kit and Chheang Ghek Kim Tang have all pleaded not guilty to allegations they ran a multi-million dollar scheme to use foreign workers.

In December 2016, Australian Border Force (ABF) raided Mr Vizzarri’s Koo Wee Rup asparagus and broccoli farm south-east of Melbourne.

Ninety foreigners were discovered working illegally in the packing shed.

After a two-day committal hearing, Melbourne Magistrate Peter Reardon found there was sufficient evidence for a trial.

Mr Vizzarri and his company M&G Vizzarri Pty Ltd are facing 107 charges — including “knowing or being reckless” to the fact the workers were not able to work under the Migration Act.

Some of the alleged victims were not allowed to work at all, others were in breach of their visa conditions by working at the farm…

Another man, Sarith Kit, faces 109 charges — the same ones as the company, plus two other charges of money laundering.

The men and women — from Indonesia, Cambodia, Malaysia and Thailand — were employed on a casual basis to pack asparagus and broccoli grown on the farm, the court was told.

There were “all sorts of shenanigans being used to describe the employment arrangements entered in to,” prosecutor Gavin Silbert QC told the court during a committal hearing which began on Wednesday…

Recall that the Migration Alliance’s beloved Working Holiday Maker program has been found by multiple public inquiries to have exploited migrant workers.

In 2016, the Fair Work Ombudsman completed an inquiry into Australia’s backpacker visa scheme, which found that “many backpackers are being subjected to underpayment or non-payment, unlawful deductions, sexual harassment, unsafe working conditions and other forms of exploitation”.

The Senate report, entitled A National Disgrace: The Exploitation of Temporary Work Visa Holders, documented widespread abuse of Australia’s Working Holiday Maker visa program, which was “consistently reported to suffer widespread exploitation in the Australian workforce”.

The 2017 National Temporary Migrant Work Survey found that one in every seven temporary migrant fruit and vegetable pickers were paid $5 an hour or less, and a third $10 an hour or less.

In 2018, a group of academics jointly penned an article in Fairfax claiming that exploitation of temporary migrant farm workers is rampant:

Australia already has more backpackers, and relies more strongly on them for horticultural work, than any country…
Unlike agricultural visas in New Zealand, Canada and the United States, and unlike Australia’s own Pacific seasonal worker program, there is no pre-approval of employers. Nor is there systematic ongoing regulation to ensure compliance with workplace laws…
Story after story after story have exposed exploitation on farms…

Belgian backpacker Olivier ‘Max’ Caramin died after picking pumpkins on a farm in Queensland. Photograph: Facebook

And last year, another “chronic exploitation” of migrant workers on Australia’s farms was exposed:

Australian authorities are investigating whether dozens of workers from small, remote Fijian villages may be victims of labour exploitation after allegedly being deceptively recruited to work on farms in north-west Victoria.

…a local Victorian MP said worker exploitation was a “chronic” issue in the Sunraysia region, and that the case would not be surprising…

…several people familiar with the workers in the case told the ABC the Fijians reportedly paid roughly $FJ2,300 ($1,545) to a travel agent in Fiji who obtained tourist visas for them rather than working visas…

The only ones “playing dirty politics” here is the Migration Alliance. *

*Wage theft will not be addressed properly without reforming Australia’s visa system, given migrants are ‘ground zero’ for exploitation, usually by other migrants. *

A report says a majority of students know when they are being exploited by employers but feel unable to speak out.

About

Leith Van Onselen

Leith van Onselen is Chief Economist at the MB Fund and MB Super. Leith has previously worked at the Australian Treasury, Victorian Treasury and Goldman Sachs.

SOURCE: https://www.macrobusiness.com.au/2020/02/migration-agents-shamed-as-temporary-visa-deluge-fuels-slavery/

Victorian workers illegally employed on Vizzarri vegetable farm never paid

February 28, 2020February 28, 2020 / caa4nsw

Update … pre-trial directions hearing set down for May 2020

Updated 28 February 2020

By court reporter Karen Percy

Giuseppe Vizzarri, wearing a jacket and open-neck shirt leaves the County Court.

PHOTO: The charges against Giuseppe Vizzarri stem from a raid on his farm in 2016. (AAP: James Ross)

Foreigners discovered working illegally at a Gippsland vegetable farm three years ago were not paid for their hours after Australian Border Force officers seized their pay packets, court documents show.

Key points:

Court documents showed workers were paid $14–18 per hour
One witness said he was not paid for five days’ work washing asparagus at the farm because envelopes of cash payments were taken during a border force raid
Witnesses have said they were never asked about their visa status but also admitted they knew they were not legally allowed to work

Giuseppe Vizzarri, his company M&G Vizzarri Pty Ltd, and Sarith Kit each face more than 100 charges of breaching the Migration Act after 90 foreigners were apprehended during the December 2016 raid on Vizzarri Farms in Koo Wee Rup as part of the Australian Border Force’s (ABF) Operation Kippage.

Documents show $11 million was transferred from the Vizzarri company to V&T Golden Enterprises and STN Seven Pty Ltd — companies allegedly run by Mr Kit — between August 2015 and December 2016.

Mr Kit also faces two charges of money laundering after $450,000 was allegedly found in his home. He’s alleged to have run what prosecutors described as “sham” labour-hire companies.

Yesterday, Magistrate Peter Reardon committed the men for trial — as well as a woman, Chheang Ghek Kim Tang, who faces money laundering charges only.

They appeared briefly in the County Court today.

A man with black hair wearing a dark blue jacket and light coloured pants walks down the steps outside court.

PHOTO: Sarith Kit is accused of running a sham labour hire company that employed illegal migrant workers. (ABC News: Karen Percy)

Worker says he was never paid after raids

*The documents showed cash withdrawals were made by associates of Mr Kit and used to pay wages to workers that were below the award rate.

A statement from Ngurah Bayu Putra Mandala — who was a witness in the two-day committal hearing this week — said he was not paid for five days’ work washing asparagus at the farm.

He came to Australia from Indonesia on a student visa and worked on several farms, before arriving at Vizzarri Farms just before the raids.

“I did not get paid for work completed at Vizzarri Farms as the envelopes were taken by immigration,” he said in his statement.

PHOTO: The workers packed broccoli and asparagus on the farm. (supplied)

The ABF seized 180 pay envelopes with an employee number, the date and currency amounts written on them, a statement from ABF investigator Simone Mendes showed.

Bundles of timesheets were also seized, as well as banking statements, invoices and other business documentation from Vizzarri Farms and Mr Kit.

Workers were paid $14–18 per hour, more if they were drivers, the documents showed.

The workers gave evidence that they dealt with a man they knew as Mr Lee.

Ms Mendes’s statement indicated Mr Lee was in fact Sarith Kit.

PHOTO: Former workers from the farm told the court they were underpaid and were never asked about their visa status.

Witnesses say they were never asked about their visa status

Different drivers were used to pick up workers, the documents revealed.

While court documents showed some visa checks were done, several witnesses at this week’s committal said they had never been asked about their visa status.

“Everyone in the community knew that during the busy season, Vizzarri Farms would hire people without documents because they needed a lot of people to work,” an Indonesian worker named Fitri said in a statement.

Mr Vizzarri attended court today alongside his wife, Anne-Marie Vizzarri, who is named as a director of the company M&G Vizzarri.

His lawyer indicated it was “in dispute” that he was aware of the employment arrangements.

Lawyers for Mr Kit and Ms Tang cross-examined witnesses during the committal procedure, who admitted they knew they were not legally allowed to work.

They are all due back in court in May for a pre-trial directions hearing.

SOURCE: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-02-28/vizzarri-illegal-workers-on-vegetable-farm-never-paid/12011692?utm_source=alertme&utm_medium=email

Australians comment in response to Elect more Culturally Diverse MPs

February 28, 2020February 28, 2020 / caa4nsw

AUSTRALIANS HAVING THEIR SAY … About What’s Really Going On! …

… in response to this ‘Report calls for Preselection Targets to Elect more Culturally Diverse MPs’ from Per Capita Think Tank fellow, Osmond Chiu and CAAN’s assessment of it …

https://caanhousinginequalitywithaussieslockedout.com/2020/02/27/23452/?fbclid=IwAR3PgWPKjlT9tOBErI9IUvahjxuomh6cmADR-SjQJVDRtu7hl9eaAITTMes

I don’t have a problem with cultural diversity. What I do have a problem with is when cultural diversity replaces the culture of a Nation, and this is what I fear with the insidious democratic disassembly currently taking place by our Governments allowing massive IMMIGRATION and VISA MANIPULATION by our largest trading partner ‘CHINA’.

The Sydney Metro … all the Metro stations connect to Chatswood …a city being built ostensibly with China’s money; view Website and audio link below

We bend over for the Chinese every time they sneeze and we receive absolutely nothing in return except their continued exasperation with the Australian People’s response for their unbridled and Government-approved take-over of Our Country … !!!

🤬🤬🤬🤬

Image may contain: 1 person, smiling — Sign promoting the S 188C Visa outside Lindfield Station

Culturally diverse? What about anyone who is not morally corrupt; doesn’t lack principles; is ethical and puts the Nation before themselves, and any political party. That’d be a good start.

‘ “This is embarrassing,” Mr Chiu writes, noting Asian-Australians alone comprise about *****15% ***** of the population ….. Hmmmmm ….. Okay, if you do the maths that’s 3 Million 375 Thousand, enough people to build a city like Melbourne on its own ….. And that’s fine, no issue at all, as we are a multicultural society and a Nation enhanced by immigrants ….. except to say ….. we need to be more specific with the NUMBERS.

Is that 15% ASIANS in general, i.e. Chinese, Thai, Malaysian, Indian, Pakistanis, Iranians, Japanese, Philippinos, Indonesians ….. etc, etc ….. or is it a figure ….. and coming from Mr CHIU ….. just Chinese?

Image may contain: one or more people and people sitting

Let’s get the numbers clear. Because, as we know, the Chinese Communist Party (the CCP) have an AGENDA going on ….. A BIG ONE ….. and when we talk about Chinese numbers across the World widespread Chinese Nationalists are precisely what has been flourishing ….. not just because of China’s pathetic POPULATION Explosion, and the need to get the Hell Out! ….. NO ….. But the CCP, and its motives for World Economic Domination, and indeed total Domination, it is encouraging foot soldiers to do their DIRTY works. ….. GLADYS LIU ….. is just one of thousands of dirty works.’

Image may contain: 5 people, people smiling, people standing — CHISHOLM: I CAME FOR GLADYS LORRAINE’s (LIU) POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY!

In Gladys Liu’s electorate which is mine all the candidates for the major parties were Chinese born. I agree that is not diverse. I want the best candidates for the job regardless of race, gender or sexuality.

Too much selection of candidates on everything except merit and ability and integrity

FIND out more about CHATSWOOD … a city being built ostensibly with China’s money …

Image may contain: sky, skyscraper, tree, night and outdoor

High-rise Residential Pacific Highway Chatswood

Image may contain: skyscraper, sky and outdoor

Meriton apartments and Huawei, Pacific Highway Chatswood

AUDIO: Move along to about 9.5 minutes into the talk and David Lee, a GeoPolitical Strategist hones in on Chatswood … 15% of the entire GDP of Australia comes from Sydney to Chatswood

David describes Chatswood as the city in the middle of nowhere; being built by the CHINESE COMMUNIST PARTY

All the money has come from China. It’s not from Hong Kong people … they speak Mandarin in Chatswood; previously it was Cantonese.

A lot of money comes into Chatswood, and it’s effectively the Shenzhen/Hong Kong to Sydney CBD of Australia.

This is the wealthiest couple of kilometres in the entire of Australia! …

This city has happened out of nowhere … massive high-rises … it looks like Hong Kong … it’s a city being built ostensibly with China’s money …

https://caanhousinginequalitywithaussieslockedout.com/2019/09/01/a-geopolitical-strategist-on-the-mk-hong-kong-the-u-s-and-australia/?fbclid=IwAR10lD12mz0OZPkHTJtR2qjV-9XsPZPg5c8M86-348dp5zLJy9aZZWoOdXQ

Image may contain: 5 people, people standing and outdoor

At Australian home auctions … with the onshore Proxy; ‘hot money’ laundered with no exemption in the AML Laws for Real Estate gatekeepers (Scomo Govt October 2018)

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Report calls for preselection targets to elect more culturally diverse MPs

February 27, 2020February 27, 2020 / caa4nsw

Per Capita think tank research fellow Osmond Chiu.SBS News

THIS REPORT details a researcher’s view, Osmond Chiu that …

-political parties set targets for preselecting culturally diverse candidates because Australia’s parliaments are more homogenous than other English speaking democracies

-this idea was put forward in a paper for the Think Tank ‘China Matters’

-their aim being to promote nuanced sound policy for Australia’s relationship with China

-that only 4 per cent of Federal MPs have a non-European heritage

-to the author it is embarrassing as 15% are of Asian background whereas in the UK 10% were from minority groups and in New Zealand 13% were from Pacific or Asian backgrounds

.bundling the two groups together; one would tend to believe the majority in New Zealand would be from the Pacific Islands

-Chiu claims Labor affiliation; works for Per Capita
.he advocates political parties in 20% of winnable seats pre-select such candidates and this process be halted if genuine attempts are not undertaken

THIS SMH article then mentions the ‘intense scrutiny’ Ernest Wong faced over donations and Gladys Liu having links to the CCP …

‘China revelations lead Labor senator to call for Gladys Liu to front Parliament over donation’

Reported as recently as 25 November 2019 https://caanhousinginequalitywithaussieslockedout.com/2019/11/25/china-revelations-lead-labor-senator-to-call-for-gladys-liu-to-front-parliament-over-donations/

-he goes on to claim ‘transparency’ and the people be the final judge

WELL, another Chinese philosopher, Sun Tzu, in the 5th Century BC is believed to have written 13 chapters about the ‘art of war’ and included the issues that need to be overcome to achieve victory!

ARE we, because of our apparent blindness and stupidity, setting up a time in the future where we will be consumed by ‘A New Order’ … not of our own making?

China’s new hottest app on the block is a propaganda resource that teaches “Xi Jinping thought” and requires the Communist Party’s 90 million members to read it daily.

ARE we to be prevented from having such a conversation?

SO much … probably more than ever before … is public discourse softly controlled … ?

Report calls for preselection targets to elect more culturally diverse MPs

By Nick Bonyhady

View all comments

A researcher has suggested political parties set targets for preselecting “culturally diverse” candidates after finding Australia’s parliament is more homogenous than those of comparable English-speaking democracies.

In a new paper for the think tank China Matters – which aims to stimulate “nuanced” discussion of China and promote “sound policy” for Australia’s relationship with the country – progressive researcher Osmond Chiu found just 4 per cent of Australian federal MPs have non-European heritage.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison addresses Parliament, which researcher Osmond Chiu argues should be more culturally diverse.CREDIT:DOMINIC LORRIMER

“This is embarrassing,” Mr Chiu writes, noting Asian-Australians alone comprise about 15 per cent of the population.

In contrast, 10 per cent of MPs who won seats in Britain’s recent election are from black and minority backgrounds, and New Zealand has almost 13 per cent of MPs of Pacific or Asian ethnicity.

Mr Chiu, who is Labor-aligned and works for Per Capita, a think tank dedicated to fighting inequality, argues Australian political parties should set a target of running “culturally diverse” candidates in 20 per cent of winnable seats, with preselections halted if parties do not make a “genuine attempt” to find suitable candidates.

Wang Xining, Deputy of Mission of the Chinese Embassy in Australia, speaks to the media about the coronavirus in Canberra in February 2020.

Q&A

Chinese embassy official faces hard questions on Q+A

Several Asian-Australian politicians have faced intense scrutiny in recent years, with claims before the NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption that state MP Ernest Wong hid the source of large donations to the NSW Labor Party, allegedly made by Chinese Communist Party-linked billionaire Huang Xiangmo.

Federal Liberal MP Gladys Liu also faced questions last year about her former membership of organisations with alleged ties to the Chinese Communist Party.

Mr Chiu argues transparency is the best way to combat the mistrust of Chinese-Australian politicians.

He backs widespread calls for a federal national integrity commission and a cap on political donations. But Mr Chiu said political candidates should not be vetted by a third-party organisation.

“I would be extremely uncomfortable with some other organisation, some institution vetting who could run for Parliament,” Mr Chiu said. “We have provisions about who can run for Parliament in our Constitution and I think the best we can really do are things that enable as much transparency as possible and allow the public to be the final judge.”

Nick Bonyhady

Nick is a journalist for The Sydney Morning Herald.

SOURCE: https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/report-calls-for-preselection-targets-to-elect-more-culturally-diverse-mps-20200225-p54448.html

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Why Australian families are feeling poorer

February 27, 2020February 27, 2020 / caa4nsw

The cost of childcare is up 97 per cent over the past two decades while housing is up 94 per cent and food and non-alcoholic beverages are up 62 per cent.

SMH: The cost of childcare is up 97 per cent over the past two decades while housing is up 94 per cent and food and non-alcoholic beverages are up 62 per cent.

Why Australian families are feeling poorer

By Leith van Onselen in Australian Economy

February 27, 2020 | 11 comments

Fidelity International has released research which helps to explain why Australian households are feeling the pinch, despite the ABS’ reported low growth in inflation and its official cost of living indices.

According to Fidelity, there has been low inflation in discretionary goods that you may want, but high growth in non-discretionary growth that families need:

…by far the largest price rises in the past 20 years is in private secondary school education – up a whopping 203 per cent – and private pre-school and primary education (up 159 per cent).

The 2019 Australian Scholarships Group Planning for Education Index reveals that the forecast cost to educate a child starting out now in a government school through to year 12 is more than $68,000. That figure climbs to $127,000 for Catholic schooling and more than $298,000 for private school/independent education…

The cost of medical and hospital care has almost trebled in the past 20 years…

The price of insurance itself has jumped about 118 per cent.

When combined with the zero real household disposable income growth over the past seven years:

No wonder Australian households are feeling the pinch, despite official measures of inflation also cratering.

Leith Van Onselen

Leith van Onselen is Chief Economist at the MB Fund and MB Super. Leith has previously worked at the Australian Treasury, Victorian Treasury and Goldman Sachs.

SOURCE: https://www.macrobusiness.com.au/2020/02/why-australian-families-are-feeling-poorer/

MPs warn NSW Government to never let private operator run a public hospital

February 27, 2020 / caa4nsw

WATCH this space …

DESPITE a cancer patient having the wrong side of his bowel removed … the result of a privately contracted laboratory mishandling the patient’s pathology results …

… Figure NSW INC won’t do a thing until …

SOME more serious issues arise … possibly a death … will that be the single thing that may pull them up?

BUT …

-even then ideology will prevail … the only incident that will change their mind will be

-a personal event that threatens their own health and well being … only then will things change?

By state political reporter Ashleigh Raper

UPDATED 27 FEBRUARY 2020

PHOTO: The exterior of Sydney’s Northern Beaches Hospital. (ABC News)

Upper House MPs have warned the NSW Government to never again get a private operator to run a public hospital, based on the experience at the Northern Beaches Hospital.

Key points:

The State Government spent $600 million on building the hospital
Inquiry recommends a private operator never be allowed to run a public hospital
Report calls for a “critical need for transparency”

A group of MPs — including two from Government ranks — have spent the past eight months investigating the problems at the Frenchs Forest hospital which opened in October, 2018.

The State Government spent $600 million on building the hospital and while it owns the site, the Government entered into a 20-year contract with Healthscope to privately manage the hospital.

It’s that model that the parliamentary inquiry has criticised and found that it “has the potential to negatively affect people from lower socioeconomic backgrounds”.

It found primarily that Healthscope has a “responsibility to maximise returns to its shareholders”.

The inquiry has recommended that the model of a Public-Private Partnership isn’t entered into again by the Government.

“The report highlights the critical need for transparency, as well as the rejection of a false dichotomy in which NSW Health is responsible solely for oversight of the PPP contract and Healthscope for the hospital’s day to day operation,” the committee chair Greg Donnolly said.

PHOTO: Northern Beaches Hospital has been plagued by problems. (ABC News: Nicole Chettle)

“The high standards and values of the public hospital system must prevail in this private sector arrangement and the public patient must never have to accept second best.

“Further work needs to be done to concretise this non-negotiable position at the Northern Beaches Hospital.”

Another recommendation of the report was to consider reinstating the emergency department at Mona Vale Hospital.

NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard said he does not agree with the findings of the inquiry and that the Northern Beaches Hospital was doing an “extraordinarily good job”.

“There’s no intention to build any other Public-Private Partnership,” Mr Hazzard said.

“I’m utterly satisfied that that hospital is doing a first-class job.”

Last year a damning report outlined “inadequate” planning and preparation for the hospital’s opening.

The report highlighted a series of fundamental flaws such as staff shortages and a lack of senior supervisors.

Issues at the hospital received widespread media attention in the weeks after its opening, but the NSW Government dismissed them as “teething problems”.

A cancer patient had the wrong side of his bowel removed at the hospital.

NSW Opposition Leader Jodi McKay today urged the Government to rule out further privatisations.

“The inquiry has found there has been a two-tiered health system in the Northern Beaches,” Ms McKay said.

“I urge the Premier today to listen to the recommendations of this inquiry, rule out the further privatisations of hospitals in New South Wales and do it.“

Victorian Vegetable Grower Paid Vast Amounts of CASH for ILLEGAL WORKERS … Melbourne Court Told

February 27, 2020February 27, 2020 / caa4nsw

AND this is the tip of the iceberg (lettuce) … as well

THIS has been going on for years … the narrative given is of particular interest … it gives a glimpse of what and how the so-called systems we have in place are in fact …

-porous
-not thorough on arrival
-no follow-up to reduce the number of over stayers

THE LIST goes on …

IS it a tacit acceptance by the Federal Government (Scomo Govt) to allow this to go as it puts downward pressure on wages?

AND is …

–disruptive to the AWARD WAGE SYSTEM

PLUS …

-money laundering

-visa manipulation

By court reporter Karen Percy

UPDATED 27 FEBRUARY 2020

PHOTO: The court heard the illegal workers packed broccoli and asparagus on the farm. (ABC Rural: Laura Poole, file photo)RELATED STORY: Illegal farm workers detained in farm raid

A Victorian vegetable grower has been accused of taking part in a multi-million-dollar scheme involving the illegal use of foreign workers to pack vegetables, a Melbourne court has heard.

Key points:

Giuseppe Vizzarri, his company and another man, Sarith Kit, are facing more than 100 charges each
Foreign workers were found illegally packing asparagus and broccoli grown on the Koo Wee Rup farm
The court was told “vast amounts of cash” were paid into banks and withdrawn in cash for the workers

On December 2, 2016, agents from the Australian Border Force (ABF) raided the Vizzarri farm in Koo Wee Rup, about 75 kilometres south-east of Melbourne and found 90 foreigners working illegally inside the packing shed.

Giuseppe Vizzarri and his company M&G Vizzarri Pty Ltd are facing 107 charges — including “knowing or being reckless” to the fact the workers were not able to work under the Migration Act.

Some of the alleged victims were not allowed to work at all, others were in breach of their visa conditions by working at the farm.

A man with grey hair wearing a suit walks down steps outside court with his hands in his pockets with others surrounding him.

PHOTO: Australian Border Force officials raided Giuseppe Vizzarri’s farm in late 2016. (ABC News: Karen Percy)

*Another man, Sarith Kit, faces 109 charges — the same ones as the company, plus two other charges of money laundering.

The men and women — from Indonesia, Cambodia, Malaysia and Thailand — were employed on a casual basis to pack asparagus and broccoli grown on the farm, the court was told.

Workers’ attendance marked by drivers, court told

There were “all sorts of shenanigans being used to describe the employment arrangements entered in to,” prosecutor Gavin Silbert QC told the court during a committal hearing which began on Wednesday.

Workers were brought in by word of mouth, the court heard.

Some workers were employed as drivers who “transported workers to the farm and recorded their attendance,” Mr Silbert said.

Some also operated as recruiters.

PHOTO: Sarith Kit is accused of running a sham labour hire company that employed illegal migrant workers. (ABC News: Karen Percy)

The court heard “vast amounts of cash” — in the millions of dollars — was paid by M&G Vizzarri to companies run by Mr Kit known as VNT Golden Pty Ltd and STN8 Pty Ltd.

The money was then withdrawn in cash and given to the Vizzarri workers.

*”They were paid well below award rates under the disguise of being legitimate arrangements of the labour hire companies,” Mr Silbert said.

Mr Kit is also charged with dealing with the proceeds of crime, after ABF officers seized $455,490 in Australian currency and $US15,200 in cash after a raid on his home.

Chheang Ghek Kim Tang is also charged with dealing with the proceeds of crime.

A close-up photograph of baby broccoli growing in a field.

PHOTO: The workers packed broccoli and asparagus on the farm. (ABC News: Jeremy Story Carter, file photo)

Defence lawyer for Mr Vizzarri and his company, Justin Hannebery QC, said his client was charged with immigration offences, not exploiting workers or the underpayment of workers.

Tito Hardian Sukamto, from Indonesia, gave evidence that he started working at Vizzarri farms in September 2015.

He was a driver who ensured other workers got to the Vizzarri farm, keeping records of their attendance.

He also helped recruit others to work on the farm but stopped when he found it too stressful, a statement tendered to the court shows.

The statement was made on the day of the ABF raid.

‘No-one ever asked about my visa status’

*During cross-examination Mr Sukamto admitted he knew when he arrived on a 10-day holiday visa in January 2008 that he intended to stay on.

“I was told I could find someone who could change the visitor visa to a visa to study,” Mr Sukamto said via a translator.

Instead he applied for a protection visa on the grounds he had cancer, telling immigration officials he wanted to stay in Australia to ensure he got better medical treatment, the court heard.

He told police that a Cambodian man called Mr Lee was in charge of finding workers at Vizzarri farms.

PHOTO: Mr Silbert told the court the workers were paid well below award rates. (ABC Rural: Olivia Garnett, file photo)

“Lee is at the farm all day, everyday that we work. He has around 100 workers at the farm. He does not work, he just supervises,” he said.

His statement showed he worked 50 to 60 hours a week, earning an hourly rate of $18.

“No-one at the farm has ever asked me about my visa status,” he said in a statement tendered to the court.

Another man, Agus Yusta Pradnyana, worked at a number of farms including the Vizzarri property.

*The court heard he came to Australia from Bali in 2012 with his mother on a holiday visa.

His aim, the court heard, was to work to pay off his father’s debts.

He applied for a protection visa the day he arrived in Sydney, the court was told.

He started at Vizzarri in September 2015 and was also a driver.

A statement showed the workers were paid on Fridays.

Cash was put inside envelopes with the worker’s hours and total pay written on them, as well as a number identifying them.

Mr Pradnyana was number 602, his statement showed.

He was paid $15 for packing and $18 when he drove the vans.

He was not working at the farm the day of the raid, the court was told.

During cross-examination by lawyer Simon Moglia — representing Mr Kit and Ms Tang — both men admitted they knew they could not work before they left their home countries.

In a statement tendered to the court, Mr Pradnyana also said he was never asked by anyone at Vizzarri farms if he had a visa to work.

The committal hearing continues in front of Magistrate Peter Reardon.

MORE TO FOLLOW …

SOURCE: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-02-27/vegetable-grower-faces-court-over-sham-contracting-allegations/12002232

LIKE CAAN ON FACEBOOK!

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Sports grants scheme gave money to club in Scott Morrison’s electorate that had already built facility

February 26, 2020March 21, 2020 / caa4nsw

The Government decided to give the Sans Souci Football Club $50,000 for a building that was about to be opened by the state Liberal MP

Exclusive by political reporters Jack Snape and Matthew Doran

Updated 26 FEBRUARY 2020

.VIDEO: A Sport Australia promotional video (ABC News)

A club in Scott Morrison’s electorate was given $50,000 for a building that had already been built — and the Prime Minister’s office was told about it before he attended a media event at the ground.

Key points:

The Government decided to give the Sans Souci Football Club $50,000 for a building that was about to be opened by the state Liberal MP
The club was awarded the grant on April 3, 2019, but the local council said the project was officially opened on April 6
Guidelines for the program stated projects that had commenced work were ineligible

Although guidelines for the sports grants program stated projects that had commenced works were ineligible, the Sans Souci Football Club facility — located in Mr Morrison’s electorate — was about to be opened by the local state MP when the Sport Minister decided to award it money.

A spokesperson from the Prime Minister’s office (PMO) said the project had been assessed by Sport Australia as eligible and it was the responsibility of the applicants and Sport Australia to ensure projects met the criteria.

Hundreds of pages of emails have been tabled in the Senate providing unprecedented insight into the $100 million pre-election sports grants cash splash and the $150 million Female Facilities and Water Safety Stream program.

They include an email between the Prime Minister’s and then-sport minister Bridget McKenzie’s offices prior to the Sans Souci media event.

“It is worth noting that the club initially missed out on the first two rounds of funding under the Community Sport Infrastructure grant program,” the email stated.

“The club was subsequently funded in round three.

“During the intervening period, the club has fundraised and the project is almost completed.”

Scott Morrison dribbles a soccer ball alongside children on a suburban soccer field

PHOTO: Scott Morrison appeared at a media event in July 2019 to mark the awarding of a grant for a soccer club in his electorate. (Supplied: Facebook)

The club sought $50,000 in the scheme as part of an $80,000 project for a clubroom and awning, according to the leaked spreadsheet.

Georges River Council stated the project was completed by April 6, 2019, and the club contributed $80,000 to the project alongside council and state government funding.

The $50,000 Commonwealth grant was given under round three, for which funding decisions were made on April 3, 2019 — three days before the opening was held.

A post by local state Liberal MP Mark Coure on April 9 marking the “official opening” of the building stated, “Sans Souci Football Club players are thrilled with the final outcome”.

The club declined to comment.

Eligibility not job for PM

Sport Australia provided a list of 1,943 eligible projects to the minister’s office in November 2018.

But after the Government decided to expand the scheme to subsequent rounds, decisions to fund Sans Souci and others under round three weren’t made until April 2019, by which time work on some projects had commenced without Commonwealth funding.

The Prime Minister’s spokesperson said the Sans Souci project was approved for funding by the then-minister for sport based on its assessed eligibility by Sport Australia.

“After Sport Australia assessed the projects and the minister approved them, Sport Australia worked with the recipients to develop their funding agreements,” the spokesperson said.

“It was the responsibility of the applicants and Sport Australia to have ensured all projects met the eligibility criteria.”

Georges River Council and Mr Coure opened the new Claydon Reserve facility on April 6, 2019.

We’re committed to improving the facilities available for our community and on Saturday we officially opened the Claydon Reserve Amenities building!

We’re pleased to be delivering several new amenity buildings, which are in various stages of construction across the Georges River area. Each building includes a referee room, home and away locker room, facilities for men, women, ambulant and parent bathrooms, a storage room and a canteen.

We hope you enjoy using this great new facility!

“The Government expects all organisations that apply for taxpayer funding to comply with the guidelines and eligibility criteria of those programs,” the government spokesperson said.

“The Minister for Sport is not aware of any advice from Sport Australia regarding eligibility of the Sans Souci Football Club.”

A total of 136 emails about the scheme went to and from staff in the Prime Minister’s office between October 2018 and April 2019, according to information released by the Audit Office on Wednesday.

Versions of the spreadsheet used to award grants were circulated four times with the Prime Minister’s office between February and April 2019.

Those communications included “input on which applications should be awarded funding”, according to a statement from the Audit Office.

Female facilities confusion

Heavily redacted emails tabled in the Senate show the scramble happening behind the scenes to figure out the process for managing the $150 million Female Facilities and Water Safety Stream (FFWSS), and specifically which department would manage the funds.

What’s all this talk about sports grants? The whole saga explained

Claims of sports rorts are all over the news. Get up to speed quickly with the year’s biggest political scandal — who did what, when, and why people are angry.

The project has been heavily criticised by Labor and members of the crossbench for having no formal guidelines or tender process, with some recipients learning through the media they were about to be handed millions of dollars.

The Coalition has defended the project, arguing the funding was outlined in the 2019 federal budget and it allowed the Government to deliver election commitments.

Emails show that as late as September 2019, concerns were being raised the money had still not been transferred from the Infrastructure Department to the Health Department, where responsibility for sporting projects lies.

“The pools are not yet formally finalised as coming to us,” a government official wrote to another on August 8, 2019.

“If you are informing people that they are coming to us (which is expected) do you mind also saying it’s in progress to that outcome to give us half a chance to respond — otherwise I’m going to get bombarded and have no formal information or directive to be able to manage these requests.”

The ABC understands that among those enquiring about the program were major sporting organisations.

Emails dated in July include reference to lists of projects that “do not include those identified previously by PMO to be delivered out of the pools and female change rooms funding”.

The marginal Coalition electorates of Corangamite in Victoria and Pearce in WA received $60 million alone, or 40 per cent of the entire funding pool, from the project announced by the Prime Minister in March 2019.

The bundle of emails were presented to the Senate after the Upper House ordered the Federal Government to produce correspondence relating to the program.

The Senate inquiry hearing into the original $100 million sport grant scheme continues on Thursday when Sport Australia will appear.

A submission to the inquiry from Gippsland Ranges Roller Derby Inc, whose application was rated 98 out of 100 by Sport Australia but was not funded, stated: “We believe there is a significant trust deficit that needs to be remedied.”

Contact Jack Snape

SOURCE: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-02-26/sports-grants-scott-morrison-club-got-money-already-built/12001522

Ban on $10,000 cash purchases set to become law despite concerns

By Rob Harris

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*Funeral directors say cash ban could hit people ‘at their lowest point’

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EXCLUSIVE

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Migration agents shamed as temporary visa tsunami fuels slavery

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Victorian workers illegally employed on Vizzarri vegetable farm never paid

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Worker says he was never paid after raids

Witnesses say they were never asked about their visa status

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Report calls for preselection targets to elect more culturally diverse MPs

By Nick Bonyhady

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Why Australian families are feeling poorer

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MPs warn NSW Government to never let private operator run a public hospital

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Victorian vegetable grower paid ‘vast amounts of cash’ for illegal workers, Melbourne court told

Key points:

Workers’ attendance marked by drivers, court told

‘No-one ever asked about my visa status’

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Sports grants scheme gave money to club in Scott Morrison’s electorate that had already built facility

Key points:

Eligibility not job for PM

Female facilities confusion

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