Westpac fails to pass on full RBA cut

Westpac has cut its standard variable home loan rate by 37 basis points to 7.09 per cent, deciding not to pass on the full half percentage point by the RBA.
Its variable rate on business loans has been cut by 50 basis points.


Westpac group executive retail and business banking Jason Yetton downplayed the influence of the RBA's rate cut in the bank making the decision.

“It is now widely acknowledged that the link between the RBA’s cash rate and the actual cost of money to banks – in effect our own borrowing costs – plays an increasingly small role," he said. "Other ones, such as the relatively high cost of deposits and wholesale funding, have assumed critical importance,” said Mr Yetton.
“In particular, the price of deposits including term deposits has a major impact on our decision making."
More banks cut
Westpac is the third of the four major banks to announce their mortgage rate cuts after the Reserve Bank surprised the households by slashing 50 basis point from the cash rate on Tuesday.
Bendigo and Adelaide Bank this afternoon also unveiled plans to keep back some of the RBA's cut. The bank will cut its standard variable home loan 35 basis points to 7.10 per cent - but not until May 21.
A short time later, Bank of Melbourne moved to tackle National Australia Bank claim of being the lowest cost of the major banks matching the rival lender’s mortgage rate.
Bank of Melbourne cut its variable mortgage 41 basis point to 6.99 per cent.
Westpac owned St George Bank this evening announced it will reduce its standard variable home loan rate by 38 basis points to 7.04 per cent, effective May 14.
ANZ last to go
Customers of ANZ have to wait until next Friday to learn where the cost on its standard variable rate mortgage is headed, in keeping with ANZ's controversial independent pricing strategy.
Commonwealth Bank dropped its standard variable rate by 40 basis points to 7.01 per cent yesterday. On Wednesday, National Australia Bank lowered their mortgage rate by 32 basis points to 6.99 per cent.
The suspense around the big four's mortgage rate pricing has been blamed for adding to the uncertainty of consumers, who have in turn curtailed spending and borrowing.
The RBA cut official rates to 3.75 per cent from 4.25 per cent this week after the economy showed continued weakness and its preferred inflation gauge sank to its lowest since 2000.

smh.com.au 4 May 2012

Unhealthy union ‘ripped off members'

THE union once headed by suspended Labor MP Craig Thomson racked up suspicious contracts worth $17 million, including $3.4 million with a printing firm that supplied him with an American Express card. 

In a scathing report into the Health Services Union East branch, a high-level audit has found at least five contracts awarded without any tender.
And it says union members - many of them low-paid hospital workers and cleaners - were ripped off by greedy union officials paying well above market rates.
The release of the report yesterday adds to the woes of the Gillard Government.
It details how the HSU East - which combines the Victorian and NSW branches - is run by a small cabal who have awarded contracts to companies affiliated with their families and friends.
Ian Temby, QC, and auditor Dennis Robertson - who wrote the report - lashed out at the HSU East for having "inadequate" controls, which it says expose the union to fraud and inflated prices.
Mr Robertson said he had seen "few systems with such lack of formalised controls" in his 40 years of work.
Among a raft of contracts awarded without tender, the union paid Sydney printing firm Communigraphix $3.4 million over four years.
NSW Police are pursuing Mr Thomson and former HSU national president Michael Williamson over allegations they received secret commissions from this firm - which receives around $750,000 to print the union's internal newsletter.
Mr Williamson and Mr Thomson could face jail if charged and found guilty.
The Prime Minister has tried to distance her Government from the Thomson scandal by announcing he will sit as an independent.
 But Labor sources say the HSU East report is a further blow to the Government. "It's damaging because it demonstrates systematic fleecing of the union," one said.

heraldsun.com.au 01 May 2012

Another government fraud under the strict supervision of Labour MP Craig Thomson.

This is just the tip of the iceberg of the fraudulent activities, that have yet to surface in the corporate media, but are well known within the parliamentary circles.

Bullied ex-employee sue Optus for $14.5 million

A former Optus employee is suing for $14.5 million claiming the telco failed to protect her from a "known bully" in the organisation who made it difficult for her to do her job.

Kerry Morrison, who worked for seven months as the head of sales, service and marketing in Optus's digital division, says she was dismissed without notice on February 7, the Sydney Morning Herald reports.
Ms Morrison last week launched a multi-million-dollar damages suit against Singtel Optus to cover loss of future earnings and damage to her professional reputation.
In court papers filed by legal firm Harmers Workplace Lawyers, Ms Morrison suggests there was a "dysfunctional culture of bullying, suppression and victimisation" within Optus.
She claims she was not told about "strong tensions" between her supervisor in the digital division, Austin Bryan, and the head of the consumer division, Michael Smith.
A statement of claims filed by Harmers described Mr Smith as a "known bully" who was "highly protective of revenue in his own division".
Mr Smith allegedly opposed Ms Morrison's initiatives to boost online sales because it would "lead to a decline of sales through retail", which he managed.
Tensions allegedly boiled over during a meeting on January 11 when Mr Smith ''started screaming at [Ms Morrison] and became physically aggressive and overbearing to the point where [Ms Morrison] became fearful and emotionally upset [and was] physically shaking", court papers claim.
Ms Morrison says she was sacked by her boss Mr Bryan on February 7.
Optus has said it will defend the its position against Ms Morrison's "unjustified claims".

heraldsun.com.au 26 Apr 2012

Bullying, discrimination, victimisation are more predominant in the telco industry then the corporate media make it out.

Only 'high profile' stories like this make it out into the public arena.

Naturally since the telcos have at their disposal '300 lawyers', it's the financial might of the telco that prevails over any injustice occurred, therefore case like this either do not make it to court, are dismissed, or even prior to any court appearance the telco intimidate the victims.

The corrupt legal system supports the multinationals, as any win against them will set a precedence for other to take legal action. This is discussed between the lawyers, and the matter is already known which way it will go, before any court appearance.

The public are deluded that a judge prevails over a matter without any bias.

Myki concession is leading to crowd chaos at stations

COMMUTERS at city stations will pour through opened fence gates to avoid crowd build-up caused by the slow myki system. 

Extra myki readers are being installed beside fence gates to avoid a backlog of commuters slowed down by the card-operated gates that allow only one person through at a time.
Free-flowing entry into the station was also expected to be introduced at the Elizabeth St end of Flinders St Station during busy times.
The move is a major concession by transport chiefs that myki in its current form is unable to cope with large numbers of people using it. Metro staff will be able to unlock fence gates and allow commuters to pour out, without the need to go through myki-operated gates.
Transport Ticketing Authority chief executive Bernie Carolan said additional myki readers and myki-only gates were being installed to help with passenger flow.
"The readers will be located near fenced areas that will be opened at the discretion of Metro staff to assist passengers with exiting safely and as quickly as possible," Mr Carolan said.
This will happen in the morning peak, and at the Elizabeth St entrance at Flinders St in the evening.
"Patronage on Melbourne's train network has increased significantly over the past few years," he said. "The installation of these readers will provide passengers with an additional 27 places to touch on and off.
"The TTA is hoping to have most of the additional readers in service by mid May, with myki-only gates to follow by the end of that month. In addition, TTA is increasing face-to-face customer support at the busiest locations and additional signs and announcements at stations advising passengers to touch and hold their myki still when touching on and off."
Mr Carolan said an additional 150 myki readers had been installed at some metropolitan stations, with another 160 on the way.
"At more than 50 locations it has been necessary to create additional entry and exit points, while at others it has been necessary to widen existing entry and exit points," he said.

heraldsun.com.au 27 Apr 2012

Another project failure on behalf of the planners and government for accpeting second rate products in a 'money for mates' scam that the corporate media has chosen not to report on.

Since the MYKI system is to be the sole public transport 'ticketing' system, were the planners and/or organisers were not aware of the 'congestion', suggesting the blame on the herd, rather than the shepherds.

The people who approved this system for public use should be fired, and blacklisted.

Two shot in 'bikie-related' attack

UPDATE: A MAN and a woman have been shot at the Gold Coast's busiest shopping centre.
Police have swarmed on Robina Town Centre in what is believed to be a bikie-related shooting.
The shooting happened outside the toilets at the cinema.
The male victim has been identified by police sources as Jacques Teamo, a  Bandidos motorcycle gang member.
The woman is understood to be an innocent bystander, aged in her 50s.
Teamo is a senior Bandido who owns East Coast Ink, a Mermaid Beach tattoo parlour which was shot up on the Gold Coast on Tuesday.
Pictures from the scene: Robina bikie shooting
The Gold Coast Bulletin reports one witness as saying there was blood on the floor outside the Sony store on the ground floor and shoppers were running away from the scene shouting "someone's got a gun".

Another said a woman was lying injured inside the Vodafone store.

It is believed two men, one of whom may have had a "big silver gun" according to one witness, were arguing.
A man, described as around 35 years old, of solid build, wearing a black hooded jumper, was last seen running to the Woolworths car park.
A shop assistant at Rebel Sports who served at least one of the two men before the incident, described them as "bikies" and heavily tattooed.
Police are looking for a man who is described as Pacific Islander in appearance, approximately 180cm tall with a muscular build and a full neck tattoo.
 While some parts of the centre remain in lock down police believe the man has fled the scene with police following up several inquiries.

m.new.com.au 28 Apr 2012

The worst part about all this is that the police are FULLY aware of the criminal activities of the gang and the individuals concerned, as they are 'known to police', but there is a disturbing policy of the authorities for the drug gangs to sort it out 'between themselves', in other words to shoot it out between each other.

Most disturbingly the authorities allow this to go on where in the process, innocent people are injured, with the real possibility of getting killed.

A lot of people are making a lot of money from letting the drug trade go 'unnoticed', including corrupt police, politicians, law makers and judges.

A pathetic approach to the multi billion dollar drug trade in Australia.

Mourners lay rubber to send-off dead mate

Mourners in New Zealand have been filmed performing loud smoke-belching burn-outs outside a Wellington cemetery to honour a dead mate. 

The footage was filmed after the March 12 funeral of 22-year-old Troy Kahui, who died of a heart condition, stuff.co.nz reports.
Mother Karen Kahui said burnouts were the right way to farewell her son.
"It was an appropriate send-off for a person who was absolutely passionate about drift cars," Ms Kahui said.
But police said the funeral was the worst gathering of hoons the area had seen for five years.
Hutt Valley area commander Inspector Mike Hill said the group performed 300m burnouts not far from a primary school and could have injured children.
He said the antics were also disrespectful to those buried at the cemetery and visitors.
"I'm not aware of anywhere in New Zealand culture where it's acceptable [to do burnouts] at a funeral or after a funeral or in and around a cemetery," Inspector Hill said.
Mrs Tahui disagreed with the police assessment.
"'[At a funeral] you're supposed to be celebrating someone's life," Mrs Tahui said.
"That was his life."
Police have arrested four men aged between 18 and 27 who were allegedly in the burn-out video.
They face charges of dangerous driving and sustained loss of traction among other alleged offences.

30 Apr 2012

Losers and Trailer Park Trash are a dominant force in any country, irrespective of how their self righteous actions try to justify themsleves they will always be the cesspool of human society.

It is the role of every government to support this garbage, as they are the backbone of unskilled, uneducated labour force which is exploited by governments and corprations alike.

 

The Voice - The mother of all battles

The Australian masses are lured into the hypnotic and mindless 'battles' as the music industry 'legend's put it, in the show "The Voice".

The children of the canon fodder are given the 'idiot box' show, that tempts them of untold wealth and fame achieved by being part of the music 'business', and that's what it exactly is, a business.

No one is told of the contracts that are to be signed are slanted one way, purely for the financial benefit of the music industry.

No one is told that the contracts they sign relinquish them of any rights, only to be puppets of the music company. The so called 'publists' control the entire image and perforances of the puppet individual.

What the masses are also unaware of is the fact that the music industry puppets in the chairs, are told what to say by the producers, via the head pieces.

Another farce, from the television industry, to the impressionalble minds of the children of the masses.

Apple avoiding billions in taxes: report

Gadget giant Apple is avoiding billions of dollars in taxes by setting up small offices around the world to collect and invest the company's profits, The New York Times reported Saturday.

The report said an office in Reno, Nevada, where the corporate tax rate is zero, was one of many that the California-based technology giant uses to legally sidestep state income taxes on some of its gains.
California's corporate tax rate is 8.84 percent.
Record sales of iPhones and iPad tablet computers, particularly in China and other parts of Asia, saw Apple report last week that it made a $39.2 billion profit in the quarter ended March 31.
The Times quoted Apple executives who said the Reno office and others in Ireland, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, the British Virgin Islands and other low-tax places were among the legal methods the company was using to reduce its global tax bill.
The newspaper said Apple had "devised corporate strategies that take advantage of gaps in the tax code," citing former executives who had helped craft those policies.
In Reno, Apple uses a subsidiary named Braeburn Capital to manage and invest the gadget company's money, the report said, and when those investments succeed, the Nevada address shields the profits from being subjected to tax.
Former executive Robert Hatta, who oversaw Apple's iTunes retail marketing and sales for European markets until 2007, said routing transactions through Luxembourg allowed them to be taxed at low rates.
"We set up in Luxembourg because of the favorable taxes," Hatta told the Times.
"Downloads are different from tractors or steel because there's nothing you can touch, so it doesn't matter if your computer is in France or England. If you're buying from Luxembourg, it's a relationship with Luxembourg."
In a statement to the Times, Apple said it "has conducted all of its business with the highest of ethical standards, complying with applicable laws and accounting rules."
"We are incredibly proud of all of Apple's contributions," it said, noting that the company "pays an enormous amount of taxes, which help our local, state and federal governments."

 afp 30 Apr 2012

Apple together with many other global giants are in the business of tax avoidance, which is illegal.

Many governments turn a deliberate blind eye to this, in effect supporting their actions.

Much of the imbalance is taken care of by the masses in higher taxes imposed by governments.

NZ woman 'drank 10 litres of Coke a day'

The partner of a New Zealand woman who regularly drank up to 10 litres of Coca Cola a day has blamed the soft drink for her sudden death. 

Mother-of-eight Natasha Marie Harris, 30, suffered a fatal heart attack in February 2010, an inquest in the South Island town of Invercargill has heard.
Her partner Chris Hodgkinson said if she went without Coke, she would become moody, irritable and "quite nasty", the NZ Herald reports.
"The first thing she would do in the morning was have a drink of Coke and the last thing she would do in the day was have a drink of Coke by her bed," he said.
For a year Ms Harris had been vomiting about six times a week, the likely result of too much caffeine, pathologist Dan Mornin said.
In addition to drinking lots of the soft drink, Ms Harris would not eat breakfast, only eat snacks at lunch and would often skip dinner.
A spokesperson for Coca-Cola said they did not believe there was any basis for finding the soft drink caused Ms Harris's death.
The inquest heard that before her death her teeth were so rotten that they had to be removed.
Researcher Lisa Te Morenga said that drinking ten litres of Coke a day would be the equivalent of a kilogram of sugar.
She said that even drinking that much water each day would be detrimental to a person's health.

20 Apr 2012

A product made by the multinationals for consumption that not only is carcinogenic by taken in quantity can cause death.