December 2013 - MyChoice Australia

Media Release: National ‘Free Smoke Zones’ to protest tobacco tax hike

20 Dec, 201320 Dec, 2013 Lara

This Saturday protesters will come together across the nation to ease the pinch for smokers – by handing out free cigarettes. The ‘Free Smoke Zones’ will be held in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne and Perth to oppose the Abbott government’s massive tobacco tax hike. “Christmas is tough on any budget. This massive tax hike couldn’t come at a worse time. We’re trying to make the holiday season a little easier by showing some good will,” said MyChoice Australia director Lara Jeffery. The tobacco tax was raised by 12.5% on December 1…

Congratulations to Tim Wilson, the new Freedom Commissioner!

17 Dec, 201317 Dec, 2013 Lara

Some very exciting news has just been released – Tim Wilson has been formally appointed to the position of Human Rights Commissioner by Attorney-General George Brandis! The announcement comes hot on the heels of the AGs office directing the Australian Law Reform Commission to identify laws that encroach on traditional rights and freedoms. This is very good news for freedom in Australia. Tim has spent seven years at the renowned Institute of Public Affairs, and will be leaving his role…

The Best Op Ed of 2013

16 Dec, 2013 admin_ata

James Morrow writing in the Telegraph: ORDINARILY when a business decides to offer a new service to its customers the market either takes it up or not, goods and services are exchanged for money, and everyone goes on their way. But when that business is McDonald’s, and that service is home delivery, all hell breaks loose. To judge by the hysterical reaction in some quarters to the news that Macca’s North Parramatta outlet has started a home delivery service, one would think Ronald McDonald himself was prowling the suburbs, dashing…

A fat lot of good

09 Dec, 201309 Dec, 2013 Lara

Does anything sound less fun and more ominous than an ‘Obesity Summit’? Nonetheless it exists, was it held last week, and people attended it, refreshed by sparkling water and slivers of carrot, no doubt. Judging by the outcome of the summit it was entirely populated by do-gooder, penny-pinching public-health pseudofascists. Successfully pushing the previous government to force a star-rating nutritional labelling system, as though clear information about the nutritional makeup of food is somehow unclear to poor, unthinking, silly Australians, was never going to be enough. Helen Rittelmeyer at the…

Why the tobacco tax hike is Tony’s fault – and not Kevin’s.

06 Dec, 2013 Lara

There’s a lot of confusion surrounding the tobacco excise hike – in particular about who is responsible for it, and where the bill to authorise it is. Hopefully we can clear it up a little! Firstly, there is no bill to authorise it – yet. What has happened is this: on the 29th of November, the Deputy Commissioner of Taxation filed a notice in the federal Gazette (which is a publication of all official government notices and announcements) giving notice of an intention to pass a bill to raise the tobacco…