1、1NAB：Australia Needs Major Economic ReformThe head of one of Australias biggest bank said at a business lunch it is time for major economic reform in the country. In his first public speech since taking up his position as CEO of the National Australia Bank （NAB） last August， Andrew Thorburn suggeste
2、d there appeared a lack of motivation among government leaders， it was reported on Thursday. “There is no doubt that we cannot be complacent and we must recommit to further economic reform， ” he told the Trans Tasman Business Circle. “I think the reality is that it has been quite some time in our co
3、untry since there has been major economic and structural reform. I think we would have to go back to the GST （Goods and Services Tax） in July 2000.” Tax and the labour market were the main areas reform was needed， he said followed by the regulatory burdens placed on small and medium-sized businesses
4、， which he said had a historical context， the Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported. 2“In Australia， business needs to have a bigger voice， ” he said. “I know in New Zealand， businesses are more actively engaged in helping formulate policy by giving direct feedback to key ministers about what
5、 change is needed and why， ” said he， adding “I think that in New Zealand there is more of a confidence and an optimism than what I feel in Australia today.” Australia Gives Power to Refuse Anti-vaccine Children from Early Education An Australian law maker has introduced a legislation that would giv
6、e childcare centers increased power to exclude children who are not immunized in an attempt to increase “herd immunity” to preventable diseases. Queensland Health Minister Cameron Dick introduced the legislation into parliament that would give childcare cen- ters the choice of whether to accept or d
7、ecline children who are not immunized. Queenslands immunization rates for children sat at 92 percent in the last quarter of 2014， short of the 95 percent recommended for strong “herd immunity”. Dick told Fairfax Media with contagious but preventable 3diseases such as whooping cough and measles still
8、 affecting children and more needed to be done to minimized potential for very tragic “Every year， there are tragic cases that highlight the importance of ensuring everyone in your family is fully immunized， “ Dick said. The legislation follows on from the previous governments strategy to educate Au
9、stralian parents about the importance of vaccinations. However， they had stopped short of implementing it. The New South Wales state government has a similar law in place. Australia Declares War on Feral Cats with Plan to Cull Two Million by 2020 Authorities hope to reduce soaring numbers of the pre
10、dators， descended from domestic pets which arrived with European settlers Australia plans to kill two million fe-ral cats over the next five years following concerns that the predators have been preying on wildlife and have left more than 120 native species at risk of extinction. Declaring a “war on
11、 cats”， the federal government said it planned to use poison baits and has created a phone app called 4FeralCatScan for the public to alert authorities about areas where large numbers of the predators have been spotted. Scientists believe feral cats have been involved in 28 of Australias 29 known na
12、tive mammal extinctions in the past 200 years. It is believed there are about 20 million cats across the nation ?C and they kill about 75 million native animals a day. The cats arrived with the European settlers in the late 1700s and are the same species as domestic or alley cats， but have since gon
13、e wild and spread across the continent. Australia Central Bank Urges Housing Concessions Review The Reserve Bank of Australia（RBA） has urged the government to reconsider tax concessions for property investments. The RBA said negative gearing -tax concessions for buy-to-let property investors - may b
14、e encouraging debtfuelled investment. Its recommendation to a parliamentary inquiry comes amid rising house prices in Australias major cities. The government has pledged not to change the concessions， which benefit wealthier Australians. In a submission to the inquiry into home ownership， the 5RBA n
15、oted there had been a “pronounced decline” in home ownership among younger households in recent decades. At the same time， the number of people buying investment properties had risen to about 10% of adult Australians， and most of those investments were heavily geared. Australias taxation system is r
16、elatively generous to small investors in buy-tolet property compared with some other countries. “The Bank believes that there is a case for reviewing negative gearing， but not in isolation， ” it said in its submission. Since 1985， investors have been able to deduct losses from their property investm
17、ents against wage income as well as other property income. Australias central bank says fewer young Australians are buying homes. Some economists have argued that negative gearing has fuelled rising house prices， locking young Australians out of home ownership. At the same time， changes to rules gov
18、erning superannuation - private pension funds - have encouraged older Australians to borrow money to invest in residential property. The RBAs comments strengthened calls for a review of the 6concessions， amid a broader debate in Australia about tax reform. Australian Company Cancels Serial KillerGho
19、st Tours A company criticised for conducting tours of a New South Wales （NSW） forest where serial killer Ivan Milat buried his victims has cancelled the tours. Goulburn Ghost Tours manager Louise Edwards confirmed on Tuesday night the company would no longer run the Belanglo Forest ghost tours. “Fro
20、m here on in， we will not be running Belanglo tours， ” she told Channel Tens The Project. The NSW government and victim support groups had condemned the tours. Goulburn Ghost Tours has been taking groups to Belanglo， 120km （75 miles） south-west of Sydney. The company initially defended the tours， sa
21、ying they were run with “respect”and were not intended to upset anyone. Milat is serving consecutive life sentences for murdering seven backpackers- two Britons， three Germans and two Australians - in the 1990s. He had buried their bodies in Belanglo， which was also the site where a teenager related
22、 to Milat murdered a friend in 72010. The family of the victim still live in the local area. Local media reported their disgust that the tours were being run. Goulburn Ghost Tours website and Facebook page remained offline on Wednesday and a phone number for the company appeared to be disconnected.
23、A cached version of the site advertising the Extreme Terror Tour said people would visit Milats “old stomping ground”， calling it “this most terrifying of locations”. It said it would use “paranormal techniques” to solve a murder. “Are you ready to turn grey overnight？ Do you love to be frightened？
24、Would you like to solve a crime？ Then the GGT Extreme Terror Tour is for you！” it said. Ms Edwards told The Project that in hindsight， more thought should have gone into the marketing of the tours. She said the company had received a lot of hate mail but also many “poignant and thoughtful” emails about why the tours should be cancelled， which “made us see this in a different light”.
