ERROL PARKER | Editor-at-large | Contact
One of our town’s leading financiers has criticised the move by the Albanese Government to raise the JobSeeker Allowance by $3.70 per day, telling The Advocate that doing so would be a waste the tax dollars he pays.
Former banker Wally Greenslade, who owns and controls vast swathes of country here in the Diamantina as well as other investments in other industries, spoke briefly to The Advocate this morning via telephone as he feels compelled to speak out against sending the nation’s unemployed the wrong message.
“I didn’t agree much with Scott Morrison but I did agree with his assessment that the best welfare is a job. I understand that,” he said.
“I also think people fleeing domestic violence should receive further support. Single parents need more support as well. What I don’t like is these professionally unemployed people out there getting a raise while people like me, people who employ people and generate wealth, are unfairly punished for having a punt and getting a few wins up on the board,”
“My message to the Prime Minister is stop unfairly targeting people who make a lot of money. We pay a lot of tax.”
However, Mr Greenslade failed to mention that he, like many other high-net-worth Australians, were named in the 2016 Panama Papers that outlined the benefit he receives by utilising a tax structure that some in government would consider to be illegal.
The Greenslade family use a complex system of discretionary and family trusts to minimise the tax they pay domestically. Mr Greenslade is also a Maltese citizen and is listed as majority shareholder in businesses that hold intellectual property rights over his various investments. Two weeks ago at one of Betoota’s hottest restaurants, Prolapse, Mr Greenslade was seen paying the bill with a Credit Suisse credit card.
When these facts were put to him, Mr Greenslade laughed.
“I pay tax everyday. GST, stamp duty, fuel excise. You name it. I consume a lot, so I pay a lot of tax,” he said.
“Paying anything more is just silly.”
More to come.
