Australian news - in brief

Issue 

Victorian rally against factory trawlers

A rally was held in Geelong on March 22 calling for a permanent ban on large freezer factory trawlers berthing in the town. Coordinator of the Stop the Trawler Alliance Rebecca Hubbard said: “The new factory trawler proposing to fish will be the largest freezer factory trawler to ever operate in Australia’s Small Pelagic Fishery, and poses significant threats to protected dolphins, seals and seabirds.”

Richest companies avoid tax scrutiny

The federal government will exempt the 700 richest companies in Australia from new laws, which would publish their tax information, due to improbable fears their families might be kidnapped. Labor introduced the laws requiring the Australian Taxation Office to publish the total income, taxable income and income tax payable by companies with an annual turnover of $100 million or more. The aim was to bring greater transparency to how much tax companies were paying.

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