Australian travellers face departure tax hike

TRAVELLERS will be slugged an extra $8 to leave the country under a Bill introduced into Parliament yesterday. 
 
The Federal Government wants to increase the passenger movement charge from $47 to $55 from July 1, and index the payment annually in line with CPI.
The departure charge is levied by airlines and shipping companies when tickets are sold.
The Budget measure is expected to raise $610 million over four years.

heraldsun.com.au 24 May 2012

The departure tax is an adnimatrative processing fee that tells other government institutions that you have left the country, the likes of the tax office, welfare burea, etc. 

Since there are more employees now that process your information without your knowledge, they must be paid for, by you. 

Governments are very quick to introduce 'Bills' that line the pockets of bureaucrats, but when it comes to the safety of the community, the law takes decades.