This week's budget hits alcohol, cigarettes, but luckily spared the bacon
The budget whirled through the good times of everyday Aussies last night as key inputs to a big night out were slugged by government revenue gathering.
Booze and ciggies were whacked by Swan’s budget book in an apparent clamp down on Australians having a good time.
Beer drinkers will be the hardest hit as the government revels in a $75 million revenue rise that’s set hit the pot...
Australians' love of eating out is still strong with latest household expenditure data revealing good gains for the foodservice sector.
However, the growth has not translated into increases in profits for restaurants and cafes, says the industry.
The new Australian Bureau of Statistics Household Expenditure data shows that in percentage terms the sales for restaurants, cafes and caterers in March 2012 has increased by 13.3 per cent from March 2011.
The ABS figures show...
Craft brewers are unanimous in their praise of the Federal Budget's excise reforms for microbreweries, which they believe are a crucial step forward for the industry.
The Federal Government announced it will extend the current microbreweries excise refund scheme by increasing the maximum refund amount from $10,000 to $30,000 and removing the current production eligibility threshold of 30,000 litres of beer, with effect from 1 July 2012.
"The amendments will allow breweries to...
Winemakers are raising their glasses to the federal budget, saying it will help them restructure and refocus on export opportunities in Asia.
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The federal budget released on Tuesday includes $2.1 million over two years for the Wine Australia Corporation to market the industry, along with funding boosts for the Australian Bureau of Statistics and the Department of Agriculture research bureau ABARES for studies.
The government will also continue to match research and...
Local cafe and restaurant staff could lose the right to be paid penalty rates when they work weekends.
An application by the NSW Business Chamber and Restaurant and Catering Australia has called for employees under the Restaurant Industry Award 2010 to attract penalty rates only if they work six or more days in a seven-day period, regardless of the days they work.
Saturday shifts currently attract a 25 per cent penalty rate and Sunday shifts a 50 per cent penalty rate, while a...
And professors have come up with an interesting reason for it...
Australians are drinking less beer today than at any time in the last 65 years.
According to data released this week by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the consumption of beer has thumbed new lows of 4.23 litres per person.
This is in line with the wider trend of alcohol consumption, which has similarly fallen for the fourth straight year. Australians are now necking just 9.99 litres...
And possibly the most important driver of mankind?
The biggest returns are generated by the most dynamic businesses. The most dynamic businesses are built by highly motivated staff. Highly motivated staff are driven by working towards something they want.
The key to this last bit is finding out just what exactly it is that employees want and enabling them to earn it.
According to former IKEA chief Anders Dahlvig, the...
IGNORANCE has forced Guide Dogs NSW/ACT to relaunch an education campaign even though the laws allowing seeing-eye dogs to enter all venues have been in place for 30 years.
At least one guide dog user reports being denied access to an outlet a month, with many more incidents not reported.
As a result the charity is dusting off its Guide Dogs Welcome Here campaign for Guide Dog Awareness Week, which began yesterday.
With support from NSW Disability Minister...
