Advice Evolution

Budget repair begins, tax reform is next

The Albanese government has been praised for taking the first step towards budget repair by banking its unexpected commodities windfall, with serious tax reform likely to be addressed in future budgets.

With government debt expected to hit the trillion dollar mark in the next financial year and the debt interest bill the fastest-growing area of government expenditure, the treasurer is under pressure to improve the budget bottom line.

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Retirement activities you can look forward to

Contrary to popular belief, retirement is not only about rest or relaxation. After all, your interests and objectives in life could change. The goals you have today could be very different from those you have in mind for retirement in a few years.

Besides, during retirement, you get to set the rules and change them as you see fit. It’s also time to pursue bigger dreams, especially since Australians are living longer and have more time on their hands.

For tips about the best retirement activities, consider the following and discover just how wide and varied your options could be. Find them here!

Econosights: Have we reached peak inflation?

  • A peak in inflation (in annual terms) has likely been reached in the US while Australia is lagging behind and is likely to see a peak in December 2022. Extremely high European energy prices means Euro inflation will increase further and may not peak until 2023.

  • But, inflation is unlikely to be headed back to its pre-Covid levels of ~2% per annum or less and we expect it to remain “sticky” in 2023 around 3-4% in the US and Australia which means central banks are not done with rate hikes.

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Advice Evolution News Update

New online safety laws come into effect

Australians who are being subject to online abuse will be able to report incidents to the eSafety commissioner under sweeping new powers now in force.

New online safety laws will make social media giants remove posts deemed as bullying or abusive within 24 hours.

If the posts are not taken down, individuals could face fines of up to $111,000 or companies could be hit with a $555,000 fine.

Communications Minister Paul Fletcher said the new laws would target online trolls.

“We now have new protections for Australians who are subject to vicious, online abuse,” Mr Fletcher told the Seven Network on Monday.

“What we know is that people who are the victim of this, what they want most of all is to have the material taken down as quickly as possible.”

As part of the new laws, people who are abused or harassed online should first report the offending post to the social media company it was published on.

Should the company not take down the post, people would be able to report the incident to the eSafety commissioner, who has new powers to mandate the post be removed within 24 hours.

Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce said the social media companies needed to be held accountable for the content posted to their platforms.

“The vindictive nastiness has to be brought under control, and the people who have to control it are the people making money out of it,” he told the Seven Network.

“The premise should remain with the person who makes the money, and that is Facebook and Instagram.”

However, Labor backbencher Joel Fitzgibbon said the new laws would not have much of an impact.

“The impact of bullying on the playground is immediate, no matter where it occurs, but in the playground, you get kicked out of the play area,” he said.

“This is not kicking anyone off social media, I am not sure whether that is legally or technically possible.”

It comes as the government is holding a federal inquiry into online safety, where representatives from some of the world’s biggest social media companies have been questioned.

Other legislation is being debated on whether social media companies would be forced to identify anonymous trolls.

 

Andrew Brown
(Australian Associated Press)