Federal judge Robert French rejects ATO’s case that investor’s $30,000 to grow Indian sandalwood between 1998 and 2000 had main purpose of avoiding tax

According to Patrick Durkin in The Australian Financial Review (17/9/2007, p.8), the Australian Taxation Office’s push to outlaw tax deductions for agricultural investment schemes had suffered a setback after a court ruled they could constitute a “serious commercial venture”.

Government and Business SA will work together to help individual firms or industries draw up an emissions agreements

Business leaders and the South Australian State Government have signed a groundbreaking climate change agreement aimed at limiting greenhouse gas emissions, reported The Advertiser (6/9/07, p. 9).

Illegal protest activity in Tasmania: “Simply criminals who are out to damage the Tas­manian brand”, say Tasmanian Forest Contractors

According to Ferdie Kroon, CEO of Tasmanian Forest Contractors Association, he was amazed and incensed to read the Mercury’s front page report (5 September) into the actions of Altana Beltran, in The Mercury (6/9/2007, p. 30).

Front page coverage ‘unfair’ : “ How could a newspaper indir­ectly support the proponent of illegal activity by giving her and the Tasmanian Greens front-page status? Protesters like her are not engaging in peaceful and legal protests, they are engaging in illegal and criminal like activity. Actions which stop lawful works must be condemned by society and the media that represents us. A protestor recently mali­ciously cut the rope of a police officer who then fell about three metres to the ground”.

Distinction between legal and illegal protest activity: ” Let us not forget the costs to businesses, employees and com­munities of these illegal activi­ties, which could be in excess of $15,000 per day, not inclusive of damage to equipment. The Tasmanian Forest Contrac­tors Association does not stand in the way of legal protest activity but we will not support illegal activity and we encourage the Tasmanian community to draw the distinction between legal and illegal protest activity. Purveyors of the latter are simply criminals who are out to damage the Tas­manian brand as well as significantly impede hard-working com­munities”.