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Questions asked about landfill levy use

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Greater Shepparton City Council claims the Environment Protection Authority landfill levy is putting pressure on delivering a quality service, and is questioning the value being returned. The council’s works and waste manager Heinz Kausche said the council had been trying to keep costs down, making sure council waste management was affordable and accessible for the community. Darebin Council is looking at withholding payment of the state landfill levy. ‘‘That becomes difficult when we also have to cover the cost of the EPA levy,’’ Mr Kausche said. ‘‘And recently we haven’t had anything back to help manage waste from that levy.’’ During the past five years the council has paid about $1.5million each year in levies. Victoria’s peak body for councils has recently been vocal in questioning the levy. Following the state budget, it had asked whether ‘‘the government is draining landfill levy revenue to pay for projects unrelated to waste reduction or recycling’’. Municipal...
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Homeless people in Sydney 'tent city' turn down offers of homes

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Homeless people living in Sydney's 'tent city' have reportedly turned down offers of permanent housing. Dozens of tents have been erected in the CBD forecourt since December with the number continuing to grow despite attempts by authorities to move people on. Dozens of tents have been erected in the CBD forecourt since December with the number continuing to grow despite attempts by authorities to move people on. Source: AAP As the NSW state government and Sydney City Council continue their war of words over who is to blame, those living amongst the homeless pop-up are refusing offers of warm homes. One couple was reportedly offered permanent housing in a unit on Pittwater Rd for the heavily discounted rate of $120 per week, far less than the $530 it usually goes for. The deal, which included a bed, television and other furniture was knocked back on July 17. Further homeless squatters also snubbed homes in Kingsford and Stanmore, opting to stay in their make...
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Location: Sydney NSW, Australia
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Regional airports should be vigilant

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ALL Regional Airports have been informed to be extra vigilant following last weekend's foiled terror attack. While there are no obvious changes like some of Australia's more metro airports, Minister for Infrastructure and Transport, Darren Chester, said current security requirements are constantly being updated to ensure all patrons safety. Busy Ballina Byron Gateway Airport terminal. Photo Jay Cronan / The Northern Star "Following the disrupted attack on the weekend, all regional airports have been asked to exercise increased vigilance in their security operations including screening points and within terminal areas,” Mr Chester said. "The Government has subsequently released a number of Security Updates in relation to the events of the past few days, which are available to regulated industry members including regional aviation participants.” Mr Chester assured travellers there are already many security measures in place for regional airports in Australi...
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Location: Unnamed Road, Creswell NT 0852, Australia
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Should organs only be donated to organ donors?

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In South Africa, there's a critical shortage of organ and tissue donors. Keeping that in mind, I saw a poll on Wednesday that really got me thinking. It's a tough one, but it is also a very fair question - Should organs only be donated to organ donors? Pexels Just some background first. The process to become an organ donor is straightforward. You register, you receive a small organ donor card to fill in that you carry with you at all times, and you also get a sticker to put on your ID document and on your driver's license. You then let your family know that you want to donate your organs and ask them to honour your wish when you're gone. There are no costs involved for the donor or his/her family, and one person can save seven other lives. How amazing, right? Having a medical condition doesn't necessarily prevent a person from becoming an organ or tissue donor, but remember it's a choice. For privacy and legislative reasons, donors and recipients are ne...
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Six Things We Need To Know About Amazon Shopping In Australia [Updated]

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It is now certain that Amazon will be setting up operations in Australia. Yesterday, the shopping giant announced plans to open a 24,000 square metre fulfilment centre in Melbourne. By this time next year, Amazon expects to be fully operational. But there's still much we don't know. Here are six burning questions that Amazon needs to answer. We’ve already discussed the potential market impacts of Amazon’s arrival and how retailers have failed to prepare for the rising tide of online shopping. The Australian rollout is now inevitable, but the logistics of the operation remain shrouded in mystery. Will Amazon pay GST? Will access to the US store be blocked? And how will its delivery system work over here? Let's take a look at these questions, and more. #1 Will Amazon’s prices be cheaper because they’ll bypass paying GST? Once Amazon starts trading in Australia they’ll be collecting GST and sending it to the ATO just like any other business. The ATO is very clear ...
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Location: Sydney NSW, Australia
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This is how drug syndicates used Commonwealth ATMs to launder cash

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If you used a Commonwealth Bank ATM in Sydney’s inner-east around two years ago, you may have unwittingly witnessed the bagmen for a $22 million money laundering syndicate at work. Court documents reveal details about members of one of the syndicates named by financial intelligence regulatory agency Austrac in a money laundering case targeting compliance at Australia’s biggest bank, CommBank. Photo: Anoeke De Groot/AFP/Getty Images The syndicate brazenly deposited tens of thousands of dollars into bank accounts in fake names at ATMs in Sydney’s Paddington and Surry Hills. Shortly after one of the men in the syndicate deposited the cash, carefully making sure the amounts totalled less than $10,000, into several different bank accounts using different bank cards each time, another man transferred the cash from the CBA accounts to bank accounts in Hong Kong. The men may not have been noticed by others at the bank – or, indeed, by CommBank – but they were being watched, noneth...
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Location: Unnamed Road, Anmatjere NT 0872, Australia
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Officials Detect Bacteria in Standing Water at Controversial Dune Construction Project in Margate

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Bacteria was detected in ponds of standing water caused by weekend rain at the positioning of the polemical sand dune construction project at the beach in grunt town, New Jersey, per town leaders. Officials say preliminary take a look at results disclosed elevated levels of microorganism within the water that has been very slow to empty into the sand when 5 inches of rain fell over the weekend. "As a precaution, we have a tendency to shut access thus folks aren't walking through those areas," aforementioned John Amodeo, the grunt Commissioner of Public Safety. Contractors with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers began pumping the standing water onto the ocean aspect of the dunes weekday, supply extra issues concerning health and safety. each grunt beach from the Ventnor line to Gladstone Avenue are going to be closed weekday as a result. Flooding results in New issues Over sand dune Project in grunt "It clearly has created some out of the blue consequences t...
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