Author: media

Rumblings have reached the Westender that the tenant is getting the upper hand in the commercial and apartment market in 4101 at the moment.

Rob Honeycombe from Bees Nees is on record as saying that the number of apartments coming on line in the next couple of months are likely to see a bit of a sag in rental prices.

He writes, “We’ll stand by our comments that tenant demand is strong in Brisbane’s inner-city. … But there’s a limit to everything and there’s likely to be a noticeable blip in at least this one inner-city rental marketplace in 2014. Landlords would be well-served to keep a close eye on their own neighbourhoods and plan their lease expiries and renovations carefully.”

You can read the rest of his article on the BeesNees blog.

Westender itself currently carries an advertisement shouting Cheap Rent for a commercial space in South Brisbane.

Other local real estate agents are trimming their sales for the changing market conditions.

If you’re looking for office space or new digs, it might pay to take the time to read the tea leaves.

While developers have been getting a dream run through council many food businesses have found themselves the subject of increased scrutiny. Westender has run into more than one cafe owner who has recentlly had a call regarding the design assessment under the Food At 2006. While the new city plan does not alter the criteria for the design assessment it has shifted the focus on what areas will receive attention.

If you are starting a new food business or taking over an existing food business you may need a food business licence. Brisbane City Council offers information for new and existing food licenses, and the permits required for footpath and outdoor dining.

Lord Mayor Quirk recently wrote to small business owners offeringa  guide to opening a restaurant and cafe as part of the new planning tools.

The BCC website breaks this down into the following areas.

Many of these applications can now be lodged online, but the design assessment involves an officer on the premises.

“Words fail me,” claimed Peter Garrigan, President of the Australian Council of State School Organizations’ (ACSSO) on hearing co-chair of the Australian Curriculum Review, Kevin Donnelly, commenting on the effectiveness of corporal punishment.

“The debate on this issue has long been had with parents overwhelmingly supporting the abolition of the cane,” he continued

“There is no place in our schools for this kind of abuse,” he said, “particularly by an authority figure.”

The Royal Australasian College of Physicians position paper Physical Punishment of Children1 claims “it can have adverse consequences in the long term for the child’s health, particularly their behaviour and emotional well-being”

“This form of punishment fails to recognise the human rights of the child. The most effective form of punishment is in a positive supporting relationship that emphasises positive reinforcement rather than physical punishment,” Mr Garrigan stated.

“Society has moved beyond this archaic methodology of behavior management, and offers our young people respect as they learn and make mistakes. Parents will not tolerate its return, and will not tolerate a person in a position like Mr Donnelly who holds these views.”

Global studies indicate ingesting fine particles like those in coal dust could lead to increased health risks including stroke, heart attack, lung cancer and respiratory problems.

Despite this, every year 3,500 uncovered coal trains carrying nine million tonnes of coal, rumble through Brisbane on their way to the port near Wynnum, spewing coal dust throughout the suburbs.

The State Government plans to expand this amount of coal to up to 20 million tonnes a year with the expansion of the Acland coal mine, near Toowoomba and the many other mines planned in south-east Queensland.

The trains’ filthy cargo is unloaded at the Port of Brisbane, adding to huge stockpiles of coal that spread dust for kilometres.

Clean Air Queensland (CAQ) is holding a free community health forum at Dutton Park on Thursday to discuss the health impacts from coal dust on the community. Speakers will include Dr David King of Doctors for the Environment.

CAQ spokesman, Michael Kane said he expects South Brisbane will join the other suburbs of Wynnum, Morningside and Corinda in declaring themselves ‘coal dust free’.

“Uncovered coal trains and stockpiles release significant amounts of particulate pollution into the air and there is no safe level of exposure to particulate pollution,” Mr Kane said.

“As the amount of coal dust in the air increases, so will the health impacts.”

A Federal Government inquiry has recommended tighter regulations, better health assessments and that all coal trains be covered. The State Government, despite a pre-election commitment to the contrary, is allowing the expansion of Acland mine Stage 3 that will see another 2.7 million tonnes of coal transported through Brisbane annually.

 

SOUTH BRISBANE HEALTH FORUM ON COAL DUST

When:  Thursday, July 17 from 7pm to 8.15 pm

What:   Community health forum on coal dust pollution

Where: Dutton Park State School hall, 112 Annerley Rd, Dutton Park 

Who:    Doctors for the Environment – Dr David King; Clean Air Queensland – Michael Kane

Quote from Queensland Premier, Campbell Newman: “…I think there’s a time in the not too distant future where the community will be right to start to demand the wagons are closed.” ABC radio, November 20, 2012

The Fair Work Ombudsman website has attracted more than 650,000 visitors since it was revamped last month.

And more than 3000 users have already registered to set up their own personalised accounts.

The website allows users to create their own account using MyAccount and save information tailored to their workplace.

Fair Work Ombudsman Natalie James says the number of people accessing the free online pay tools, such as PayCheck Plus, continues to increase.

“Recently, we had a record 10,000 visits to PayCheck Plus in one day,” she said.

PayCheck Plus allows employers to determine the correct rates of pay that apply to their business and these can then be saved to a private account.

With more than 10 million visits a year, www.fairwork.gov.au is a popular resource for employers and employees.

Ms James says the new website can assist people with basic information, but also provides tools and resources for those who want to broaden their workplace knowledge, update their skills and discover new and more productive ways of working.

For example, the site now features an interactive Online Learning Centre, which has already attracted more than 12,000 users, mostly small business operators.

Free online courses for employers include Difficult conversations in the workplace and Hiring new employees.

The Fair Work Ombudsman’s small business helpline – which launched in December to provide tailored advice to small business people – has now responded to more than 100,000 calls.

Small businesses can sign up to a regular E-newsletter from the Fair Work Ombudsman with helpful workplace tips and information.

Small business employers calling the Fair Work Infoline on 13 13 94 can opt to be put through to the helpline to receive priority service. A free interpreter service is also available on 13 14 50.

You can follow the Fair Work Ombudsman on Facebook and Twitter.

Media: Penny Rowe, 0457 924 146, penelope.rowe@fwo.gov.au

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) and Australian Taxation Office (ATO) are warning consumers and businesses to watch out for scammers hiding behind tax time to target you.

“Scammers will go to great lengths to slip under your radar and steal your money, including impersonating ATO representatives on the phone, sending fraudulent emails and even creating bogus websites,” ACCC Acting Chair Delia Rickard warned.

“These fraudsters contact you out of the blue, claiming you have overpaid your tax and are now entitled to a refund. To obtain the refund, they ask you to first pay an ‘administration’ or ‘transfer’ fee. They may also ask for your financial details so they can transfer your “refund” to you. If you hand over money to these scammers, chances are you won’t see it again. If you incidentally give your personal details to a scammer, your bank accounts and identity could be at risk of fraud.”

Since 1 March 2014 the ATO has seen a spike in reports from the public of email and phishing scams from 9,368 to 11,344 compared with the same period last year.

“Scammers are becoming more cunning in their attempts to defraud the public and trick them into handing over money, their TFN or personal information,” ATO Chief Technology Officer Todd Heather said.

“We encourage people to contact us if they are worried have fallen victim to a scam call, email, SMS or a face-to-face scam,” Mr Heather said.

From time-to-time the ATO will send taxpayers emails, SMS messages or official social media updates alerting them to new services. ATO messages will never request personal or financial information by SMS or email.

“It is important for consumers to keep their guard up as reclaim scams can be quite convincing,” Ms Rickard said.

“$300,000 has been reported lost to all reclaim scams to the ACCC this year and we have received 6,000 complaints. Of these, 270 people reported the tax reclaim scam to the ACCC with over $10,000 lost.”

Based on previous trends, Ms Rickard said the figure is likely to much higher in the second half of the year when tax season is under way.

“In making a first impression, the caller will claim to represent a government agency and may trick you by reciting a key piece of your personal or financial information,” Ms Rickard said.

“The catch is you will have to pay a tax or an administration fee of a few hundred dollars to release the money but the reality is government agencies will never contact you out of the blue via phone or email to ask you to pay upfront to claim an unexpected refund,” Ms Rickard said.

ACCC Media: 1300 138 917

PROTECT YOURSELF

• Never put your tax file number (TFN) on your resume. Only give it to your employer after you have started your job
• Never share personal information, such as your TFN, myGov or bank account details on social media
• Change any passwords you may have shared with family or friends
• If you use a tax agent, make sure they are registered by checking at www.tpb.gov.au/onlineregisterExternal Link.
• If you receive an email or phone call out of the blue from ‘the ATO’ claiming that you are entitled to a refund or asking you to confirm, update or disclose confidential details like your tax file number, press ‘delete’ or just hang up.
• Don’t open any attachments or click on any links or reply to these emails. They may take you to a bogus website or contain a harmful virus.
• If you’re not sure whether a call or email is a scam, verify who they are by using their official contact details to call them directly. Never use contact details provided by the caller – find them through an independent source such as a phone book or online search.
• Always keep your computer security up to date with anti-virus and anti-spyware software and a good firewall. Only buy computer and anti-virus software from a reputable source.
• Never send money or give your financial details to someone you don’t trust – it’s rare to recover money from a scammer.
• If you think you have provided your account details to a scammer, contact your bank or financial institution immediately.

If people receive a call from the ATO and are concerned about providing their personal information over the phone, they should ask for the caller’s name and phone them back through the ATO’s switchboard on 13 28 69.

You can forward suspect scams to ReportEmailFraud@ato.gov.au or call the ATO during business hours on 1800 060 062 to discuss a suspected scam.

You can also report scams to the ACCC via the SCAMwatch report a scam page or by calling 1300 795 995. Spread the word to your friends and family to help protect them.

Further information is available at www.scamwatch.gov.au

To increase community awareness of scams the ATO has launched a new video campaign on ato.gov.au/identitycrime with helpful tips to protect personal information.

Information on online security and scams can be found on ato.gov.au/onlinesecurity.

Stay one step ahead of scammers, follow @SCAMwatch_gov on Twitter or visit http://twitter.com/SCAMwatch_gov.