Issue No 109 | 31 August 2001 | |
NewsTax Office's GST Scam - 10 Per Cent Off!
As it struggles to implement the GST, the Australian Taxation Office has taken the bizarre step of cutting its staff by ten per cent. Workers inside the ATO have drawn the line after being told this week that a further 1300 permanent and 1600 casual and temporary jobs would go. To add insult, the workers were told of the cuts in a recorded message from ATO chief Michael Carmody who had already jetted to Noosa for a holiday. CPSU delegate Greg Miller told Labor Council that after the latest round, 3000 full-time jobs - or 10 per cent of the organization - had been scrapped since May. The cuts follow a decision by the federal government to cut funding to the ATO by $191 million in its last Federal Budget. Miller says the cuts are already damaging the ability of ATO officers to provide advice to the community, particularly those still struggling under the weight of the GST. He says it will also undermine the ATO's ability to ensure that the wealthiest sections of the community meet their tax obligations.
Radio National's Background Briefing will run an expose on the ATO at 9.10am Sunday
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Interview: Union Power Electrical Trades Union state secretary Bernie Riordan surveys the union movement's troubled relationship with Labor. International: Spreading the Word Veronica Apap profiles Kamal Fadel and the battle he is fighting for the independence of his homeland of West Sahara. E-Change: Training for a Wired Workforce Education is the entry point into the new economy; but the system still reflects an industrial age view of the world. Unions: AWU Defends Millennium Train Workers Mark Hearn looks at how a group of Newcastle workers are setting a new standard in the railways. Politics: Chatting with Enemies of the State Brazils MST is the largest and most radical social movement in the Americas. The CFMEU�s Phil Davey drops in for a chat. History: Struggle and Inspiration Rowan Cahill argues that it is only through understanding history that we can make sense of the present plight of workers. Technology: A World Without Microsoft Heather Sharp argues that all technologies involve political choices and moral values. Computer software is no exception, and it is Bill Gates' choices that dominate. Review: Let There Be Rock Kid Rock and Beer Bong, Australia�s Oldest Rock Fans review the week�s music and political events from the safety of the bar stool. Satire: Tampa refugees ask to go home: "It's less inhumane than Australia" The 460 asylum seekers on board the Tampa freight vessel have demanded to be taken back to their oppressive homelands, which they now realise aren�t nearly as hostile as Australia.
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