THE NEWS WRAP: Government launches inquiry into domestic retail market

The Federal Government has launched an inquiry into the impact of globalisation on the domestic retail market, following local retailers’ complaints over the level of online purchases from overseas websites.

However, retail kingpins Solomon Lew and Gerry Harvey have hit out at the Productivity Commission inquiry, calling for immediate government action to lower the import duty threshold to level the playing field with Australian businesses that have to pay GST.

Parental leave

The parental leave scheme, which is due to roll out on January 1, is under threat from a series of inconsistent rules, reports The Australian Financial Review.

The scheme, which will see ‘primary carers’ of children given taxpayer money for leave, could clash with an existing entitlement for new parents to take up to 12 months’ unpaid leave.

Wikileaks

Bank of America has joined several other financial institutions by refusing to handle transactions for whistle blowing website Wikileaks.

The bank said that Wikileaks actions were “inconsistent” with its internal policies. Mastercard and PayPal have already denied their payment handling services to Wikileaks.

Tradeleaks backlash

Meanwhile, Tradeleaks is also suffering from a backlash, albeit on a slightly smaller scale. The website, launched by online retail entrepreneur Ruslan Kogan in an attempt to uncover shoddy market practices, has been inundated by negative postings. Posts include claims that Kogan is a publicity seeker and that the site is a “waste of time.”