Author: Gary

Home ownership is becoming far less attainable. The great Australian dream has become an unattainable fantasy for more people, with a new report showing home ownership is becoming increasingly out of reach. Data collected by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare shows a dramatic fall in the proportion of households with outright ownership of their residence and an increase in the percentage of renters and mortgagors. The rate of households who own their own …

William Buck tax services director Greg Travers says it’s certainly possible for someone earning more than $1 million to reduce his or her tax bill to zero, or close to it. Debate over tax minimisation has flared after Labor’s national conference last week agreed that a future government would look at a so-called Buffett rule, which could ensure everybody with income over $300,000 paid 35¢ in the dollar in tax. The idea is to eliminate the limit the use of deductions so taxpayers cannot …

Victorian patients could soon be handballed between hospitals that perform more work on weekends as the state government tries to overcome huge waiting lists for care that can leave people languishing for years. On Monday, Victorian Health Minister Jill Hennessy revealed the “hidden waiting list” to see a specialist doctor in a public hospital ranged from a week to more than a year depending on what sort of care a patient needs and the hospital …

A fake flyer was distributed to residents in a west Sydney suburb before the street was shut down without council approval to make way for a lavish wedding of a local deputy mayor. Property developer and Auburn deputy mayor Salim Mehajer left Lidcombe locals and police seething yesterday when he summoned a fleet of four helicopters, a seaplane, and more than $50 million worth of luxury vehicles for his wedding procession, which was attended by …

James Packer has quit his role as casino company Crown’s chairman, but will remain on the board of the company. Mr Packer is Crown’s majority shareholder, and the company said it intends to appoint him as a senior executive director. The billionaire will also remain co-chairman of the company’s subsidiaries Melco Crown Entertainment in Asia (mainly Macau) and Alon Resort in Las Vegas. Mr Packer said that, far from reducing his focus on Crown, the …