POLITICS & POLICY

A poll of more than 2,500 Australians show strong support for more investment to be made for public schools.

The SES is asking people to be aware of people attempting to illegally scam money in relation to the Queensland and NSW floods.

Abnormal amount of rains and flooding of "Bibilical proportion" triggered by the La Niña phenomenon continued to bring destruction and miseries in Australia and Brazil on Sunday, claiming the lives of thousands of people and tens of thousands more without homes.

Sydney authorities are pushing through plans for the country’s first city-wide recycled water network that aims to address drinking water demand.

The Australian Taxation office is deferring the deadline for lodgement and payment dates for businesses affected by floodwater in Queensland, northern North South Wales, and Western Australia.

Australia's securities watchdog on Wednesday pledges continues support to companies and office holders in flood affected areas throughout Queensland who may be experiencing difficulties with lodgements, notifications and fee payments.

The biggest cruise operators in the world, Carnival, has announced that it will reposition its 2,124-passenger Carnival Spirit in Sydney starting 2012.

Authorities have begun revamping its liquor license regulations by cutting renewal fees for small businesses and community clubs starting this week.

The Australian Capital Territory imposes the second heaviest tax burden on business in Australia according to a new report Business Bearing the Burden 2010 released today by free market think tank the Institute of Public Affairs (IPA).

Federal Treasurer Wayne Swan shot down suggestions coming from a board member of the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) that the country’s policy rates have spiralled upward because of the government’s propensity for too much expenditure.

The South Australian government’s Small and Medium Enterprise Investment Development Program (SMEIDP) is now open for applications as part of plans to help small and medium?sized companies improve competitiveness.

Woodside’s proposed billion-dollar Greater Sunrise floating liquefied natural gas (LNG) platforms in the Timor Sea remain locked in a controversy as the East Timor government maintains its position that a processing plant be built inside the country instead of the planned gas hub.

The federal government is extending its assistance on Queenslanders affected by the heavy rains and flooding that deluded the state, the worst flooding incident seen in Queensland for almost half a century, according to experts.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard scored the opposition for again fusing politics on the national broadband network project and this time around by dragging the names of two senior NBN Co executives to the alleged bribery scandals that occurred in Asia and Latin America.

Western Australia now earns the distinction as the country’s first site of genetically modified (GM) canola contamination, with a farm in the state’s Great Southern region receiving confirmation from WA authorities that its organic produces could be laced with contaminants.

Global mining giant Rio Tinto Ltd won the official approval of the Western Australian government for proceeding on the initial phase of its $3.9 billion iron ore expansion in the Pilbara region.

The budget surplus heralded by the federal government for fiscal 2013 may not be realised after all following reports that the targeted $7.4 billion revenue from the minerals resource rent tax could suffer considerable shortfalls.

Banks targeted by the country’s securities regulator for legal proceedings have lashed out on the agency, claiming that the lawsuits are unwarranted since their actions on the Storm Financial issue were merely procedural.

Eight out of 10 Australian borrowers believe the government's planned bank reforms do not go far enough to help and that more could be done to crackdown on interest rate rises.

Severe weather systems hovering over the European continent spawned unfavourable flying conditions on its vast area’s airport terminals, including London’s Heathrow Airport where two Qantas Airways flights coming and bound for the terminal are suspended on Wednesday.

Queensland Premier Anna Bligh denies the existence of any challenges to her leadership of the state Labor Party, apparently convinced that politics is the last thing in the minds of people especially during the holiday season.

Sealing the deal on the national broadband network project appears to require more time than first thought as Telstra Corporation informed its shareholders that its discussions with the federal government has been delayed.

The recommendations penned by the Policy Transition Group is fully acceptable for the federal government and while its gears up to honour and implement the tax deal it forged with Australia’s major miners, it also warned state and territory governments to follow suit and face the consequences.

The federal government suffered a major setback on its mineral resource rent tax stance as the Policy Transition Group (PTG) pushed forward its major recommendation of calling on Prime Minister Julia Gillard to credit all current and future royalties to the MRRT accounts of giant mining firms.

Treasury Secretary Ken Henry ended his long public service career on Tuesday as the federal government announced his resignation from office following more than 25 years of tax reforms advocacy in Australia.

The Council of Australian Governments (COAG) may have to step in and help resolve the rising tension between the country’s biggest resources firms, the governments of Queensland and Western Australia and the federal authorities over the controversial mineral resources rent tax.

Taking the cue from the inquiry conducted by the Productivity Commission on executive pay in Australia, the federal government is floating a draft legislation that empowers company shareholders to expel firm directors that are deemed collecting undue high compensation.

The new delay suffered by Adelaide’s desalination plant project in South Australia would not jack up its overall cost, despite the initial four-month setback caused by a worker’s death.

Touting a much-reduced cost of under $36 billion from the original $40 billion plus estimates, the federal government hails the national broadband network initiative as workable and reasonable as per the NBN plan unveiled on Monday.