The Australian Hotels Association (AHA) has commended the Government’s announcement that the small business entity annual turnover threshold will be increased from $2 million to $10 million from 1 July and that the corporate tax will decrease by 1%. AHA National CEO Stephen Ferguson said, “The previous threshold of $2 million for immediate deductions was welcomed last year; however the lifting of the threshold to $10 million will enable far more hotels to invest and grow”. “The 1% reduction in the corporate tax rate for small business will really help small to midsized hotels”. “Hotels operate in the highly competitive
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Illegal Offshore Wagering Review
AHA today welcomed the release of the Federal Government’s response to the review of illegal offshore wagering as delivered by the Hon Barry O’Farrell. AHA National CEO Stephen Ferguson said, “Importantly, the Government recognised the need for consumer protections for online gambling and the need to strengthen existing laws against illegal operators.” “The decision to maintain the prohibition of ‘online in play’ gambling will be welcomed by the vast majority of Australians.” “‘Click to call’ in play betting is clearly a breach of the intent of the Interactive Gambling Act and the Government is commended for its intention to block
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The alcohol-domestic violence myth
Putting more liquor outlets in a municipality does not, in fact, lead to a higher incidence of domestic violence. The City of Casey in outer suburban Melbourne is concerned because, despite having high levels of domestic violence, the Victorian Commission for Gambling and Liquor Regulation has approved construction of a Dan Murphy’s packaged liquor outlet in the municipality. According toThe Age the proposal to establish the bottle shop in a “family violence hot spot” has sparked calls for an overhaul of liquor licensing approvals. The newspaper says the City of Casey experienced the highest number of family violence incidents of
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Time for unions to stop politicking and let FWC reform 1950s hospitality work conditions for benefit of workers and business
It’s time for the unions to stop politicking and allow the Fair Work Commission (FWC) to do its job in reforming the Hospitality Industry (General) Award for the benefit of workers and business. The FWC has concluded hearings into the review of the Hospitality award and is scheduled to make a decision in the middle of the year, but already the unions are indicating that they will not accept the umpire’s decision if the Commission agrees to reform penalty rates and working conditions, which were established in the 1950s and are no longer relevant to today’s work environment. Specifically, the
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Notices
Copies of the AHA’s recent Post-Election Reports are available upon request. E2023-130 Election Notice (A2985503) E2023-130 Nomination Form (A2985505) D2022-12 – Notice fixing amalgamation day 191222 – AHA_AAA AMALG National Board – AHA and AAA amalgamation – 30 Sep 2022 (1) E2021-161- Declaration of results-Uncon E2021-138- DecUncon ENotice – E2021-161 E2021-138-NomForm NomForm – E2021-161 E2021-138-ENotice E2021-138-TimetableListRqst E2021-161- TimetableListRqst
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National Visitor Survey and Backpacker Tax
Government’s review of ‘backpacker tax’ welcomed to maintain tourism growth momentum – Tourism Accommodation Australia Australia’s peak accommodation body, Tourism Accommodation Australia (TAA), has welcomed the announcement this morning by the Minister for Tourism, Senator Richard Colbeck, that the Government would review its plans regarding the ‘backpacker tax’. Under the original proposal, the Government planned to scrap the tax‐free threshold for visitors on working holiday visas, meaning backpackers and other working holidaymakers would pay 32.5 cents tax on every dollar they earned. TAA has made strong representations to Government that the measure would significantly affect hotels in regional and remote areas and their ability to attract
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NSW Inquiry into Short term Accommodation Joint Press Release
Accommodation industry responds to NSW inquiry into short-term letting time to level playing field for commercial short-term accommodation Australia’s accommodation sector has called on the NSW Government to level the playing field for all accommodation including commercial property owners using on-line distribution channels to rent houses and units for short-term letting. In response to the rapid rise in the unregulated short-term accommodation sector, accommodation providers are advocating for the NSW Government committee to recommend: Increasing transparency of supply in the sector by implementing a register for all short-term accommodation providers, and advocating for the Federal Government to implement permanent research tools to better understand the extent
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Road to Recovery: The City of Bundaberg & its Rum
The Best Laid Plans… To celebrate their 125th anniversary in 2013, Bundaberg Rum had long planned a special release – the first super deluxe rum ever released in Australia – the 125th Anniversary Rum. Unfortunately, nature intervened, as it so often does. Nine months before the planned celebration, the city of Bundaberg was inundated with floods for the second time in three years and the distillery’s plans were very much on hold. Previously, on Christmas Eve 2010, after it sustained heavy rain, the Burnett River broke its banks, inundating hundreds of homes. Peaking at nearly eight metres above the usual
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After the swill: Celebrate the blood, sweat and beers of aussie pub culture!
By Nicole Pesa Are pubs still vital to the Australian landscape? Documentary feature filmmakers James Ward Breen and Natalie Palomo explore this question by looking at the past and the present. Verdict? Pubs are more important than ever. The son of an Aussie publican, James strives for an unprecedented inside- the-industry and behind-the-bar look at the recent social history of the iconic Aussie pub. It celebrates an essential part of the Australian cultural identity and aims to show the positive impact pubs have had on our culture through its connection between patrons. From the 6 o’clock swill to different forms
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The Mutually Satisfying Marriage between Live Music and the Pub
Australian music – particularly rock – has its origins in hotels and pubs, with a proliferation of live performances occurring in the early 1970’s. This stemmed from the liberalisation of state licensing laws and the epiphany among hoteliers and publicans that providing live music would attract the generation of baby boomers in masses. From the crowded beer gardens
of inner city hotels to the bustling backrooms of almost every suburban ‘local’, immensely famous Aussie bands – including INXS, AC/DC, Cold Chisel and Australian Crawl – once cut their teeth on the popular pub circuit. While in the twenty-first century, both the
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