Thursday 23 July 2009

Property clearance rates going strong, The Australian, 13 July, 2009.

Property clearance rates going strong

Stapleton, John. The Australian [Canberra, A.C.T] 13 July 2009: 6.
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Kevin Lee, of Smartline mortgages, said the improved clearance rates were a sign of first-home buyer activity and reaction to thegovernment's continuation of the first-home buyers grant.
THE property market continued to show signs of recovery at the weekend, with comparatively healthy auction clearance rates and turnover.
The clearance rate in Sydney was 69 per cent, well up on the 48 per cent for the same time last year, said Australian Property Monitors.
More than $77 million worth of property changed hands, the top sale being a three-bedroom house at Cronulla, in the city's south, going for $2.75m.
In Melbourne, a clearance rate of 72 per cent was a hefty 20 percentage points better than last year's result. The most expensive was a three-bedroom townhouse in Brighton East, which sold for $1.25m.
Brisbane's clearance rate of 45per cent also represented a significant improvement on last year's 23 per cent, while Adelaide's clearance rate was 66 per cent, up from 39 per cent on the corresponding weekend in 2008.
Kevin Lee, of Smartline mortgages, said the improved clearance rates were a sign of first-home buyer activity and reaction to thegovernment's continuation of the first-home buyers grant.
"The problem is, getting approvals for loans from banks and other lending institutions is increasingly difficult," he said.
"I've been in the finance industry for 15 years and have never ever seen it this hard. Some of their policies and practices defy reason."
Australian Property Monitors head of research Yvonne Chan said the auction clearance rates in capital cities remained strong.
"Although medium prices have shown a small growth month on month since the beginning of this year, the activity level is fairly high, mainly due to the record low interest rates and an extension of the first-home buyers grant," she said.
"From other indicators, such as average days on market, units seem to be performing better than houses. This is the more affordable property type."
Credit: John Stapleton
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Thursday 9 July 2009

No bail for fraud charge AFL star, The Australian, 9 July, 2009.








No bail for fraud charge AFL star

Stapleton, John. The Australian [Canberra, A.C.T] 09 July 2009: 3.
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THE life of former star footballer with the Sydney Swans and high-profile coach Daryn Cresswell hit a new low yesterday when he was refused bail after appearing in Sydney's Manly Local Court over fraud charges.

THE life of former star footballer with the Sydney Swans and high-profile coach Daryn Cresswell hit a new low yesterday when he was refused bail after appearing in Sydney's Manly Local Court over fraud charges.
He is to be extradited to Queensland today to face the charges. The alleged real estate scam involved a friend of Cresswell, real estate agent Peter Richard Smith, and false loan application documents.
Police allege that in 2005 and 2006 Cresswell made two loan applications for $80,000 and $240,000 to the National Australia Bank using documentation obtained by Mr Smith, who was born on 30 April, 1958, and claimed to be the owner of a house at Third Avenue, Coolum Beach. The money was paid as a variable interest home loan to a company, Dardon Financial Services, of which Cresswell and his wife were directors.
The house at Coolum Beach is owned by a different Peter Richard Smith, born on 12 October, 1946, who was allegedly unaware loans were being taken out using his house as collateral.
Police allege the real estate agent Mr Smith, who assisted Cresswell, did not benefit from the deal and has since turned state witness. He and Cresswell are no longer friends.
At the time of the offences, Cresswell was assistant coach for the Brisbane Lions Football Club. He has previously acknowledged in the media being a problem gambler, and he was declared bankrupt in April.
In the dock yesterday, he appeared pale and distressed.
In media reports at the time of his bankruptcy, he blamed his chronic gambling habit for the loss of all his assets.
Cresswell presented himself to North Sydney Police yesterday to answer questions relating to six outstanding warrants, and was subsequently arrested. Queensland Police will accompany him to Maroochydore today.
In opposing bail, police argued that he posed a flight risk because he was highly likely to face a custodial sentence and had been attempting to avoid theconsequences of the false loans since they were taken out in 2005-06.
Credit: John Stapleton
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Monday 6 July 2009

Tobacco tax hike to make a million quite, The Australian, 6 July, 2009.

Tobacco tax hike to make a million quit

Stapleton, John. The Australian [Canberra, A.C.T] 06 July 2009: 5.
Public Health Association of Australia president and deputy chairman of the inquiry, Mike Daube, said the only people opposing the increase were tobacco companies. Since the dangers of smoking became known in the 1950s, almost a million Australians had died prematurely because they smoked, he said.

Full Text

THERE will be a million fewer smokers in Australia if the Rudd government adopts new recommendations that are believed to include a sharp increase in taxes, plain labelling, a ban on internet sales and media campaigns.
The aim to cut the number of smokers from 17 per cent of the population to 9 per cent -- from 3 million people to 2 million -- is outlined in the Preventative Health Taskforce's discussion paper, Making Smoking History.
The government is expected to progressively increase the price of cigarettes to $20 for a packet of 30 after receiving the taskforce's report last week.
The increase would raise the average price of a single cigarette from 45c to 67c and bring in an estimated $1.97 billion in extra taxes. The tax rate increases would be the first in a decade on tobacco.
A discussion paper prepared by the taskforce last year invited comment on "progressively increasing the tax on tobacco products to the level in places like Ireland, Scandinavia and the UK, and reaching $20 for a packet of 30".
Groups supporting the increase include the Cancer Council of Australia, the Heart Foundation, the Australian Medical Association, Australian Nursing Federation, Royal Australasian College of Physicians and a number of state governments.
A Newspoll survey last year showed 88 per cent of the population supported a tax hike on cigarettes.
Public Health Association of Australia president and deputy chairman of the inquiry, Mike Daube, said the only people opposing the increase were tobacco companies. Since the dangers of smoking became known in the 1950s, almost a million Australians had died prematurely because they smoked, he said.
"Every significant health organisation supports the increase," Professor Daube said. "A tax increase is popular and raises money. Why wouldn't any government do it?
"There's excellent research showing disadvantaged groups are more likely to quit with a price rise. Far from hitting the battlers, tax increases on cigarettes actually help them."
Kylie Lindorff, chairwoman of the Cancer Council's Tobacco Issues Committee, said the taskforce's recommendations included tax increases and a ban on internet sales.
"We ask the minister to implement these recommendations without delay," she said. "All the evidence tells us that a price increase is the single most effective means to encourage smokers to quit. Some 75 per cent of smokers have indicated that if the price went to $20, they would attempt to quit."
Ms Lindorff condemned the failure to close down the illegal cigarette trade, saying a price hike could fuel the trade and undermine the official efforts to reduce smoking.
The Australian has found that illegal cigarettes with no health warnings are being sold under the counter in Sydney for as little as $7 a packet.
Anne Jones, chief executive of the anti-smoking lobby group Ash, said by putting up cigarette taxes the government could pay for the whole national preventative health strategy. "Every health group and authority is supporting a tax increase on tobacco to the level of approximately $20 a packet. It is the most united policy position we have had in years."
Health Minister Nicola Roxon has refused to comment on speculation the government will increase the cigarette tax. A spokeswoman said there had been a range of proposals and "we will respond in due course".
Credit: John Stapleton
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Saturday 4 July 2009

Illegal smoke trade has plenty of puff, Weekend Australian, 4 July, 2009.








Illegal smoke trade has plenty of puff

Stapleton, John. Weekend Australian [Canberra, A.C.T] 04 July 2009: 7.
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Anne Jones, chief executive of anti-smoking lobby group ASH Australia, said selling cigarettes without health warnings was illegal in itself but on top of that the sellers of illegal cigarettes had evaded federal excise duty, which normally made up 69 per cent of the retail price, and had no doubt also failed to pay customs duties.

RIGHT in the middle of Australia's biggest city, you can walk into a shop and buy an illegal packet of under-the-counter cigarettes for $7.
Apart from being much cheaper than the mainstream brands, which sell for about $13 a packet, they don't have any of those confronting health warnings.
The ready availability of illegal cigarettes, which are understood to be in stock near many housing commission estates around thecountry, runs counter to a blizzard of government policies designed to discourage smoking. These include a NSW government ban on smoking in cars carrying children that started this week.
NSW will soon be the first state to introduce a ban on the display of cigarettes in shops, with other states to follow. On top of this, theRudd government is widely expected to announce a sharp increase in taxes on cigarettes following the Preventative Health Task Force's final submission to Health Minister Nicola Roxon this week. There has been no increase in the tax for a decade.
Anne Jones, chief executive of anti-smoking lobby group ASH Australia, said selling cigarettes without health warnings was illegal in itself but on top of that the sellers of illegal cigarettes had evaded federal excise duty, which normally made up 69 per cent of the retail price, and had no doubt also failed to pay customs duties.
Inner-Sydney resident Les Shearman has been trying for years to expose the illegal cigarette trade because of his concern about its impact on his friends' health. He believes the ready availability of cheap cigarettes is a major factor in their excessive smoking.
The Weekend Australian accompanied Mr Shearman while he purchased an illegal packet from Broadway Tobacco, located on one ofthe city's busiest thoroughfares. It took only seconds for him to purchase the pack from the woman behind the counter. No questions. No fuss.
"They are incredibly easy to get," he said.
While there are a number of illegal brands, the cigarettes on this occasion were called Magna. They come in a plain red packet with no details apart from the name. They can be bought on the internet for as little as $US12.50 ($15.65) a carton.
While an occasional smoker himself, Mr Shearman said the multi-million-dollar illegal tobacco trade, both for "chop chop" and filter cigarettes, was having a bad impact on many of his neighbours. "I noticed that a lot of my male friends who are exclusively smoking illegal tobacco were developing hacking coughs," he said. "The cough is indicative of the volume they are smoking. It is a real, racking smoker's cough.
"We are talking about a group of people without much cash, and cigarettes at half the price is very attractive."
Ms Jones said price was the single biggest issue affecting tobacco consumption.
"Children are the most price responsive of all," she said. "Illegal cigarettes are being sold to low-income people, who not only as smokers will die a decade earlier than the average citizen, but will spend the last 10 years of their life with a chronic disease burden, desperately sick and unhappy."
Ms Jones said she could not understand why the government was allowing the illegal trade to flourish so blatantly.
Simon Chapman from the University of Sydney's School of Public Health said the laws were so easy to flout because thegovernment was not taking its inspection duties seriously.
"If it is so easy for the likes of you and me to find a shop selling illegal cigarettes, why is it so difficult for the Australian Federal Police to find them?" Professor Chapman said. "The answer is they have just not got their eye on the ball."
Credit: John Stapleton
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Friday 3 July 2009

Block's rebirth only $60m away - BRIDGING THE GAP, The Australian, 3 July, 2009.






Block's rebirth only $60m away - BRIDGING THE GAP

Stapleton, John. The Australian [Canberra, A.C.T] 03 July 2009: 5.
The NSW government yesterday announced the Pemulwuy Project would go ahead and claimed it could deliver 300 jobs and more than 9000 square metres of commercial uses, shops and community and cultural space -- as well as the much-disputed 62 homes.

Full Text


SYDNEY'S derelict Block, the centre of Aboriginal activism in Australia after it was established in the Whitlam era, may finally get the makeover its owners have been seeking for the past decade.
The NSW government yesterday announced approval for a $60million redevelopment of the inner-city site -- but the head of the organisation behind the plan admitted he did not know where the money to finance the project would come from.
The long-decaying ghetto, rife with drug dealing and crime, sits on some of Sydney's most valuable real estate, due to its location near the CBD.
The Block has been in limbo for much of the past decade as the Aboriginal Housing Company, which owns it, has been locked in a spirited dispute with the state government over its redevelopment proposal, known as the Pemulwuy Project.
The sticking point has been the desire by the AHC to build 62 homes on the site, replacing the largely derelict or boarded-up homes built in the 1970s and since trashed.
Previous planning minister Frank Sartor refused to countenance the rebuilding of the homes, claiming that concentrating large numbers of socially disadvantaged and troubled people in one area would simply repeat the mistakes of the past.
The NSW government yesterday announced the Pemulwuy Project would go ahead and claimed it could deliver 300 jobs and more than 9000 square metres of commercial uses, shops and community and cultural space -- as well as the much-disputed 62 homes.
NSW Planning Minister Kristina Keneally, joined by Deputy Premier Carmel Tebbutt and local federal MP and Housing Minister Tanya Plibersek, said the concept's approval provided an opportunity to rejuvenate the area.
"This $60m project will deliver a boost to employment in the Redfern area through the creation of around 200 construction jobs and 100 ongoing positions once complete," Ms Keneally said.
She said the AHC was the owner of the land and had put forward the proposal just like any other private developer.
"They now have the certainty to go ahead and organise finance," she said. "The AHC have pointed out they are not looking for handouts. They wanted approval so they could go forward with this visionary project and organise the finances. It is up to them.
"They have not entirely ruled out approaching state and federal governments, but they have said they want to look at private finance first."
AHC head Mick Mundine said he did not yet know where the money would come from and estimated the completion of the project was probably five years away.
"The dream will come true; we will get the money," Mr Mundine said. "The Block was degraded, it was down in the gutter. If we can do what we can do here we'd be a good role model for a lot of black organisations out there."
Credit: John Stapleton
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Seven arrested over elaborate credit card scam, The Australian, 3 July, 2009.





Seven arrested over elaborate credit card scam

Stapleton, John. The Australian [Canberra, A.C.T] 03 July 2009: 3.
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SEVEN people faced court yesterday over a credit card scam involving hundreds of locally manufactured fake cards used by teams of shoppers who promptly sold purchased goods for cash.

SEVEN people faced court yesterday over a credit card scam involving hundreds of locally manufactured fake cards used by teams of shoppers who promptly sold purchased goods for cash.
The Australian Federal Police allege the shopping teams were spending more than $500,000 a week. At least 1200 false cards have been identified since investigations began in March.
The seven arrests were a result of 11 separate raids in Sydney and Melbourne. The credit cards would only be used for a few weeks before being replaced. The Australian custom of signing for credit card purchases rather than use a PIN number made the scam possible, it is alleged.
The AFP alleged in Sydney's Central Local Court yesterday that the principal of the syndicate, Sydney man Tony Hancock, 53, is responsible for the manufacture and distribution of more than 200 fraudulent credit cards per week.
He faces multiple charges including dishonestly obtaining and dealing in personal financial information, conspiracy to cheat and defraud, and knowingly dealing with the proceeds of crime.
Mr Hancock is alleged to have received credit card details from sources overseas, including Spain and Britain, and forwarded this information to another Sydney man, Kha Weng Foong, 35.
At Mr Foong's home, police allegedly found "credit card embossers", encoders, blank credit cards and "computers containing software that was specifically designed for the making of false credit cards and Medicare cards", according to a statement.
The cards were then distributed to "shoppers" who received a percentage of the value of the items they purchased.
A spokeswoman for the Department of Immigration said the scam was discovered while investigating an illegal foreign worker racket among fruit pickers in northern Victoria.
Credit: John Stapleton
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