Australia on Tuesday agreed to scrap a contested resources profits tax after the government struck a surprise deal with crossbench senators, including mining tycoon Clive Palmer. The Minerals Resource Rent Tax (MRRT) was introduced by the previous Labor administration in 2012, with a levy on annual profits above 70 million dollars on iron ore and coal at a rate of 30%.
Philip Morris International, the world's largest tobacco company, is prepared to sue the British government should it implement a law requiring plain packaging of cigarettes, a document showed.
Unsurprisingly, most Australians don’t know much about the Falkland Islands, so visiting Legislative Assembly member Mike Summers faced lots of questions during his trip to Melbourne this week.
Mike Summers Member of the Legislative Assembly of the Falkland Islands will visit New Zealand and Australia this week as part of a regional tour where he will present the Falklands as a modern, thriving democracy and address the Falkland Islanders right to self determination. There are long-standing links between the countries, and this tour hopes to build upon existing relationships.
New Zealand's government has stepped up efforts to contain the fallout from a scare over contaminated products made by dairy giant Fonterra. Officials have been sent to Fonterra facilities in New Zealand and Australia to oversee the flow of information.
Australian red meat exports (beef, lamb, mutton and goat meat) to China continue to go from strength to strength, with total shipments for May surpassing the previous all-time high registered in February.
Australia’s beef and veal exports for March increased 5% year-on-year, to 87,742 tonnes swt, with the Chinese market again setting a monthly record high, at 12,320 tonnes swt (Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries).
Land values in northern Australia have fallen 20-25% since the global financial crisis of 2008, and will continue to fall until valuations are in line with productivity. Meanwhile, says Ross Copland, the Alice Springs-based director of Integrated Valuation Services, the curtailing of live export sales that began in 2011 has flipped perceptions of Territory pastoral productivity.
Australian beef and veal export values in 2012 increased 2% year-on-year, reaching 4.77 billion dollars. While beef and veal export volumes during 2012 notched a record, values were short of the equivalent feat, influenced by a greater proportion of exports made up of frozen product and the high Australian dollar.
Recent positive tests, and ongoing concerns that Ovine Brucellosis is spreading throughout Australia, has prompted the country’s Livestock Health and Pest Authorities (LHPA) to encourage all sheep producers to test their rams for ovine brucellosis.