Category: Business

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has officially launched a disability royal commission which will run for three years and will include commissioners who have lived experience of disability.

An emotional Prime Minister Scott Morrison has officially launched the royal commission into the abuse of disabled Australians in one of his final acts before the election campaign.

Mr Morrison detailed the establishment of the commission in Canberra on Friday morning before he is expected to call an election before the end of the weekend.

More than $500 million was allocated in Tuesday night’s budget into the Brisbane-based inquiry which will run for three years.

It will be led by former NSW Supreme Court judge Ronald Sackville, who will be assisted by five other commissioners, some of whom have lived experience of disability.

The government voted in favour of setting up the royal commission only after a motion calling for the commission was put forward by Greens Senator Jordon Steele-John and passed with Labor’s support in February.

The inquiry is set to examine the mistreatment in institutional settings, workplaces, schools, home and the community.

“The royal commission will inquire into all forms of violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation. It will cover all settings in which these abuses occur – all settings,” Mr Morrison told reporters on Friday morning.

It’s the sixth royal commission in six years.

Mr Morrison became emotional as he talked about his brother-in-law Gary, who has multiple sclerosis.

“As my brother-in-law Gary also said to me, it is not flash being disabled but the good thing is that that’s the condition you live with in Australia and that you’re an Australian.

“That has always meant a lot to me. They deserve our respect. This is so above politics I can’t tell you.

“To all those Australians with a disability, their families, to Gary, this is for you.”

Both major parties had asked if states and territories would be willing to share the cost, but have now committed to fully funding it.

While previously allocating only $26 million to the commission, Opposition Leader Bill Shorten said on Friday that Labor would match the spending commitment to ensure the inquiry goes ahead.

Australia’s property downturn has continued into the new year — with the national value, on average, dropping 1 per cent last month.

Since peaking in October 2017, the median value has fallen 6.1 per cent to $528,553, according to the most recent figures from property analysts CoreLogic.Stricter lending standards and “a further dent to confidence” are expected ahead of the federal election and banking royal commission’s final report — to be released publicly next Monday.”This is the new normal,” Tim Lawless, CoreLogic’s head of research, told ABC News.

“Tight credit conditions, weakening consumer sentiment, less domestic and foreign investment and higher levels of housing supply are the primary drivers of the worsening conditions.”

Sydney and Melbourne experienced the weakest conditions once again, with values falling by at least 1 per cent each month since November 2018.

The latest results take Sydney’s median home value back to where it was two-and-a-half years ago (July 2016), and Melbourne dwellings have reverted to their January 2017 values.

Hobart remains the best performing market (from a seller’s perspective) with prices rising 7.4 per cent in the last year to a median of $457,785.

But Tasmania’s capital is showing signs of slowing down, recording a 0.2 per cent fall in values in January.

Every capital city, except for Canberra, saw a fall in their median values last month.

There was a silver lining (for landlords) as every capital city — except for Hobart and Darwin — saw a lift in rental yields over the last 12 months as prices fell but rents remained relatively steady.

The most expensive quartile of the housing market experienced the biggest fall in values.

In particular, CoreLogic observed that the most expensive 25 per cent of housing stock in Melbourne and Sydney markets dropped 12.4 and 10.8 per cent in value in the last year.He noted this was “likely supporting a shift of demand towards lower price points”.

“Although the more affordable valuation brackets across Sydney and Melbourne have seen some resilience to falls early in the decline phase, it’s clear that all segments of the market in Australia’s two largest cities are losing value.”abcnews

Turkey posted a foreign trade deficit of $2.13 billion in February, a decrease of 63 percent from the same month a year earlier.

The deficit narrowed from $5.79 billion in February 2018, as imports contracted by 17 percent to $15.7 billion and exports increased by 3.4 percent to $13.6 billion, the Turkish Statistical Institute said on Friday. Exports covered 86 percent of imports.

Turkey’s foreign trade deficit is shrinking markedly after a currency crisis last year slashed the lira’s value against the dollar by almost one third, crimping demand for imports and making exports cheaper. The crisis also sent the economy into a recession in the second half of the year.

The proportion of Australians losing money on rental homes is falling but new figures reveal a growing number of people with at least three properties being propped up with assistance from taxpayers.

As Labor confirmed an overhaul of negative gearing rules will commence from January 1 if it wins next month’s election, tax data shows 1.3 million people made a combined loss of more than $12 billion on their rental houses and units.

The Australian Taxation Office data covering the 2016-17 financial year showed 11,349 people held at least six properties on which they are negatively geared. The number of people negatively gearing three or more properties has grown despite the falling proportion of loss-making landlords.

Although only up marginally on the 2015-16 period, the number with six or more negatively geared properties has grown by 10 per cent since the Coalition came to power.

Single property owners remain the most numerous at 930,00, having increased by less than 3 per cent since the election of the Abbott government.

The overall number of people negatively gearing a property has fallen over the past four years but the proportion with more than three properties now amounts to almost one in 10.

The single biggest deduction for both positively and negatively geared properties remains interest. In 2016-17, negatively geared landlords claimed back $18 billion in interest costs compared to $3 billion among the 855,000 people who broke even or made a profit on their properties.

Trade Minister Simon Birmingham said the start date of Labor’s policy would be a dark day for home owners.

“Labor’s policy announcement today is January 1, should a Labor government be elected, can be marked in the diary as the time in which Australian home owners will see the values of their properties diminish and renters will see the price of rent increase,” he said.Trade Minister Simon Birmingham says property owners can mark down January 1 as the starting date for falling prices under Labor’s negative gearing changes.CREDIT:ALEX ELLINGHAUSEN

The Property Council said on Friday it was still “strongly opposed” to the proposal and its possible impact on the housing market and broader economy, particularly around new housing construction.

Shadow treasurer Chris Bowen is standing by the policy, saying the tax office data confirmed the rise in people who were getting tax assistance for their fifth or sixth property.

“Labor wants to create the conditions that promote home ownership, not a system which promotes a nation of property oligarchs and renters,” he said.

“The stronger growth for investors accumulating multiple investment properties is just another indication of the ‘excesses’ in negative gearing, something the current Prime Minister is well aware of.”

Mr Bowen also confirmed Labor’s halving of the concession on capital gains tax will also start from January 1.

Of 800,000 people who earned less than $6000 in the financial year, 269,000 shared in almost $100 million of franking credits or $371 per person on average. Combined, this group of people paid $19.8 million in net tax.

At the other end of the scale, 30 Australians who earned more than $1 million in income but paid no tax shared in $6.1 million of franking credits or more than $203,000 each.smh.