BBJoey posted:

Are we talking Bronwyn or Julie?

You Am I posted:

Other than going back to Abbott, there's no one else in the Liberal front bench that's leadership worthy. Pyne is surely losing his seat next election over the way the Federal Government has treated South Australia, Morrison is a joke who only can put things into neat sound bites and slogans and there's no way the right wing will let Bishop be leader.

tithin posted:

The only thing the right want from her is to quit, and with that they're actually in tune with the electorate. For once.

quote:

Panama Papers: Fraudsters, former tax officials among Australians identified in Mossack Fonseca leak By the National Reporting Team's Lisa Main and Elise Worthington Updated 58 minutes ago

Convicted fraudsters, directors banned by the corporate regulator and former Australian Tax Office (ATO) officials are among hundreds of Australians linked to companies incorporated by Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca. They appear in the largest data leak ever analysed by journalists, with more than 11 million documents including emails, company registers and client files revealing the inner workings of Mossack Fonseca. Analysis by the ABC reveals the full extent to which Australians are using a range of financial services offered by the firm. The leak shows several Australians directly approaching Mossack Fonseca asking for help to hide their identities and avoid paying tax.

Key figures:

77 Australian clients or intermediaries working with Mossack Fonseca
More than 732 Australian shareholders
418 Australian passports listed in leak
More than 1,092 Australian-linked companies identified
800 individuals identified by ATO
In June last year, an electrician from Perth emailed Mossack Fonseca asking what he could do to "reduce or zero my tax".

Within 24 hours Mossack Fonseca replied with a range of options for their prospective Australian client. Another Australian called "Kriz", writing from a Yahoo email account, asked directly for tax haven options that would provide "complete privacy and secrecy". While it is not unlawful for Australians to set up and own offshore companies, it can be an offence to fail to disclose those assets to the Australian Tax Office. Deputy tax commissioner Mark Konza said the ATO had obtained part of the leak, and investigations had shown "a number of people who are either in our Wickenby or our wealthy Australians investigation programs" in the data.

Since 2006 tax fraud taskforce Operation Wickenby has charged 76 individuals and sent 46 people to prison.

Accompanying the hundreds of Australian shareholders, owners and directors named in the leak are dozens of Australian lawyers and accounting firms who act as "intermediaries" and use Mossack Fonseca to set up companies in tax havens for Australian individuals and companies. Only weeks after completing a prison sentence for 66 fraud-related charges, Maxwell Reid emailed Mossack Fonseca requesting an escrow account to move $100 million. Escrow services are a type of pass-through account in which a customer deposits money into Mossack Fonseca's escrow account before the law firm sends that money on as if it were its own money. In an application form, the former Coober Pedy opal miner said the millions he wanted to transfer were earned from investors and mining operations and described his role as a "paymaster" who received a "percentage" for his services, which appeared to be investing money for clients. The ABC contacted Mr Reid who confirmed he requested escrow services, but when asked if he had a current account with Mossack Fonseca he said: "Never ever."

Documents reveal the mastermind behind Australia's most infamous racing scandal became a director of a company named International Millionaire's Club after he was released from jail in the early 1990s. John Patrick Gillespie was convicted over his role in the infamous 1984 "Fine Cotton ring-in" in which another horse, Bold Personality, was painted and substituted for Fine Cotton in a race at Brisbane's Eagle Farm racecourse and won. Mr Gillespie already had an extensive criminal history when, in 1992, he became a founding director of International Millionaire's Club and another company called International Horseowners Club, both incorporated in the British Virgin Islands and the Bahamas by Mossack Fonseca.

Both companies were struck off the registries by 1995, but Mr Gillespie continued to be investigated for multiple scams allegedly involving race horses, anti-wrinkle cream and a multi-million-dollar collection of famous artworks which allegedly left investors high and dry. Mr Gillespie was unable to be reached for comment.

Warren Black, a Perth-based accountant and former ATO employee who runs a company called Wealth Safe, also appears in the leak as a director and shareholder of a Mossack Fonseca-managed company called Wealth Grow International Limited, which was incorporated in the Seychelles in March 2015. Mr Black's website states his "life passion" is legally "getting people out of paying tax" and that he is known for his "ability to create out-of-the-box solutions to minimise tax" and wants to make "the complex tax and asset protection secrets of the rich easily understood by the average person". On the day the company was incorporated, Mr Black's signature appears on a document declaring accounting records and registers are up to date and available to Seychelles authorities on request. The ABC is not suggesting any illegal behaviour or wrongdoing by Mr Black. Mr Black told the ABC he was surprised to hear about the leak but was not worried because his offshore company was completely legal. "I've always been a big believer of minimising taxes as much as you absolutely can, provided you stay within the law," he said. "I've been audited myself a couple of times in the past and it's come out very clean, so I always make sure I do things cleanly. "I think that everyone has got to ultimately look after what is [in] their best interests within the law." Mr Black notes on his website that he is a "gifted musician" and uses his unique piano-playing skills in his YouTube video series entitled Global Sovereignty — Free Yourself From Unjust Taxes.

Murray Priestley, ASIC-banned stock trader

Former Queensland-based Lifestyle trader chief executive Murray Priestley relocated to Singapore after the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) found he engaged in "deceptive conduct" and offered clients "misleading advice". In June 2013, ASIC banned Mr Priestley from providing financial services for three years. At the time, Mr Priestley was a director of a company registered by Mossack Fonseca. After Mossack Fonseca became aware of Mr Priestley's ban, the firm sought additional due diligence information but it appears requests went unanswered. Despite the ban, Mr Priestley and his company Alpha Holdings Management remain active, according to the leaked documents. Mr Priestly was unable to be reached for comment.

Warwick Farm Grandstand Motel

One of the 13 active Australian clients in the database is the Warwick Farm Grandstand Motel. Clients are also known as intermediaries and partner with Mossack Fonseca to set up offshore companies. Warwick Farm Grandstand Motel has the same name, address and contact details as a run-down, charge-by-the-half-day motel in Liverpool, west of Sydney. It has been at the centre of multiple violent disturbances. Emails between Mossack Fonseca and the Warwick Farm Grandstand Motel show they never produced due diligence documentation despite dozens of requests dating back to 2011. A warning on the client file says: "PLEASE DO NOT PROCESS ANY FUTURE PAYMENT UNTIL THE CLIENT COMPLIES WITH THE DUE DILIGENCE DOCUMENTATION." However, both Warwick Farm Grandstand Motel and the company it registered, K.D.S Incorporated, remain active in Mossack Fonseca's internal documents. The motel's holding company was also the subject of a wind-up action by the ATO last year, which was later dismissed. Neighbours to the property described the motel as "feral, dodgy and full of drug users and prostitutes". The Warwick Farm Grandstand Motel has a TripAdvisor rating of 1.1 star. One unimpressed user "Mark J" said the place looked like "a drug deal gone wrong, stains, burns and crack pipes", while another reviewer "Alex P" said it was "a good place to take a prostitute". When the ABC called the motel the company's directors were unavailable, however a receptionist advised the motel charged $80 a night and $49 for a half-day.

The ICIJ's findings reveal the Russian president's associates shuffled as much as $2 billion through banks and shadow companies. Putin's childhood friends Arkady and Boris Rotenberg amassed a fortune in part through lucrative contracts with state and state-owned companies, according to the ICIJ.

The ICIJ found a Panama company set up for Lionel Messi by Mossack Fonseca in 2012, Mega Star Enterprises Inc, adding a new name to the list of shell companies known to be linked to him. The Barcelona star's family has denied that he is involved in tax evasion.

Iceland's Prime Minister Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson

The data leaked revealed accusations he used an offshore company to hide millions of dollars in investments in Iceland's major banks. Gunnlaugsson was at the forefront of a campaign against bank bailouts after the 2008 Icelandic financial crisis.

Family of Chinese president Xi Jinping

According to the ICIJ, the files reveal offshore companies linked to the family of China's top leader, Xi Jinping, who has in the past vowed to fight "armies of corruption".

Jackie Chan, movie star

The files show movie star Jackie Chan had at least six companies managed through Mossack Fonseca. As with many of the law firm's clients, there is no evidence that Chan used his companies for improper purposes.

Who is involved in the Panama Papers leak?

The unprecedented leak has the hidden financial dealings of 12 current and former world leaders and 128 more politicians and public officials around the world.

quote:

(excerpt)Thousands take to streets

It was unclear whether Mr Gunnlaugsson was guilty of tax evasion but his opponents have insisted he step down regardless. "The Prime Minister should immediately resign," former Social Democratic prime minister Johanna Sigurdardottir said in a message posted on Facebook. A demonstration outside Iceland's parliament in Reykjavik calling for Mr Gunnlaugsson's resignation was then kicked off on Monday evening. Police provided no estimate of the size of the crowd, but said the demonstrators outnumbered the thousands who in 2009 brought down the right-wing government over its responsibility in Iceland's 2008 banking collapse. Organisers said more than 10,000 people had gathered outside parliament. "Take responsibility" and "Where is the new constitution?" read some of the signs carried by demonstrators, referring to the country's new charter drawn up after the 2009 political crisis and which has since been held up in parliament. Some protesters reportedly threw eggs at the parliament building. "People should not have a Prime Minister they are ashamed of ... the Prime Minister displayed his lack of faith in the Icelandic currency and economy by placing his money in a tax haven," Mr Sigurdardottir said. More than 25,000 Icelanders have also signed a petition demanding his resignation.

Skellybones posted:

Bill Shorten has a weird shaped head.

quote:

In June last year, an electrician from Perth emailed Mossack Fonseca asking what he could do to "reduce or zero my tax".

Within 24 hours Mossack Fonseca replied with a range of options for their prospective Australian client.

open24hours posted:

Considering what the money gets spent on, who can blame people for wanting to minimise or zero their tax?

open24hours posted:

Considering what the money gets spent on, who can blame people for wanting to minimise or zero their tax?

open24hours posted:

Giving money to politicians only encourages them.

I wonder what's more immoral, avoiding tax or paying a politician to pass laws you like? In any case, I find it pretty difficult to get worked up about this kind of thing. The entire economy is set up to encourage this kind of behaviour and the faux outrage from the political class is all a bit much.

MysticalMachineGun posted:

It's faux outrage because the Libs want to cut corporate taxes with their usual bevy of excuses - a leak like this just provides further evidence that no, corporations aren't struggling due to a heavy tax burden like Mal would like you to think.

SynthOrange posted:

Why cant we have both?

SynthOrange posted:

Also surprising probably no one, a bake sale at UQ to highlight wage differences between men and women by indexing cupcake prices to gender ended up with threats of rape and violence.

SynthOrange posted:

Also surprising probably no one, a bake sale at UQ to highlight wage differences between men and women by indexing cupcake prices to gender ended up with threats of rape and violence.

Kat Delacour posted:

The comments on that article (assuming you're referencing this)sure are something.

Kat Delacour posted:

The comments on that article (assuming you're referencing this)sure are something.

SynthOrange posted:

Oh no I missed it! and was in the wrong state! Now THAT's unfair!

TUESDAY APRIL 5
Gender Pay Gap Bake Sale
10 – 2pm on the Grassy Knoll
Come and visit the members of the UQU Women’s Collective to purchase baked goods – with a difference. Specific to each faculty, each baked good will only cost you the proportion of $1.00 that you earn comparative to men (or, if you identify as a man, all baked goods with cost you $1.00!). For example, if you are a woman of colour in the legal profession, a baked good at the stall will only cost you 55 cents!

Tokamak posted:

SynthOrange posted:

Also surprising probably no one, a bake sale at UQ to highlight wage differences between men and women by indexing cupcake prices to gender ended up with threats of rape and violence.

hooman posted:

Why are white men the most fragile, thin skinned assholes imaginable?

I ask this as a white man.

Tokamak posted:

WhiskeyWhiskers posted:

Jack was a misogynist and womaniser. He had to be taken out.

Brick Dust Otis posted:

The status quo is very bad, except for me, a white man, therefor the status quo is good, and cool