Podcast appearances and mentions of john passant

John Passant was a radical activist, a socialist, a poet, writer and academic. He was also a partner, a father, a son, a brother, a friend and a comrade. John was a part of our Canberra community. This program is a small contribution to celebrating John, his poetry and his political convictions.

The upcoming Australian federal election is looking set to be fought on, among other things, tax reform. While the Labor Party want to wind back certain perks for the well-to-do, such as negative gearing and dividend imputation, the Liberals insist these changes will affect the aspirational middle-class and pensioners, in the case of the latter. Meanwhile, a lot of the electorate are left bedazzled by the complications of the debate, left wondering what policy change will effect whom. SubjectACT's Nathan Gubler spoke with John Passant, Canberra correspondent at Independent Australia and former Assistant Commissioner of Taxation at the Australian Tax Office. John Passant has written on tax for years, and explains how these mechanisms work and why Labor are arguing for a winding back of them. We then explore whether a campaign based on these reforms represents a rejuvenated Left ready to dismantle rampant neoliberalism, or if is a case of Labor wanting to rock the boat. Read John Passant's piece for Independent Australia on franking credits and other tax reform suggestions here: https://independentaustralia.net/business/business-display/franking-credits-superannuation-and-other-legal-tax-rorts,12362 Also find John's blog, En Passant, here: https://enpassant.com.au Image by GotCredit (https://flic.kr/p/TCxv9R) used according to CC BY 2.0 licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/). The interview was originally broadcast on 19th February, 2019. Join us each Tuesday evening from 6.30pm on 2XX FM 98.3 SubjectACT for local current affairs, or stream on 2xxfm.org.au/listen. Find this and other episodes in podcast form on Soundcloud or the iTunes Store. You can also follow us on Facebook and Twitter. Subscribe to 2XX via https://2xxfm.org.au/Form/subscriber

 7am intro and acknowledgement of country 702am News: - Internecine war in the Liberal party - The new coup against Jeremy Corbyn - faux "anti semitism" as battering ram 730am Jacob and Zane speak with Steve O'Brien about why Socialists should run for parliament 745am Jacob and Zane speak with Canberra correspondent and press gallery member for Independent Australia John Passant about the crisis in the Liberal party  804am activist calendar 8:20am News: 50th anniversary of the Prague Spring: When Soviet tanks crushed democratic socialist hopes

In this episode Dave(@withsobersenses) and Jon (@jonpiccini) chat with Padraic Gibson (@paddygibson) about his research into the Communist Party of Australia and its early, or lack there of, engagement with Indigenous struggles in the 1920s and 30s. Not only is the history fascinating but Paddy also really digs into what was wrong with socialist and communist thought at the time, and the inheritance of Marx and Engel’s work, that made it hard for the CPA to connect with these struggles. How and why did this change? And how do these concerns play out today? Sadly Jon’s internet dropped out 15 or 20 minutes into the conversation Paddy is a member of Solidarity and his work can be found there. Paddy would like to acknowledge that the history about the links between the Garvyist movement and Aboriginal activists in Australia in the 1920s he talks about comes from John Maynard’s book Fight for Liberty and Freedom Paddy was nominated as an interviewee by John Passant when John donated to Living the Dream. Thanks John!

We take stock of the headlines this week, which include news from the Northern Territory and the USA, prompting thoughts about how the two countries compare on human rights and treatment of refugees and first nations people. We discuss housing changes in Melbourne and overseas.Our first guest today is Ferne Edwards, a Post-Doc research fellow who worked on the SHARECITY project. We have a lively and fun discussion about community food sharing and sustainable cities!Then we are joined by John Passant who breaks down the mythology of corporate competition and privitisation.

Today Kevin, Meg and Eugenia are joined by John Passant - economist and workers' rights champion, to discuss the recent moves for tax cuts for high income businesses. Where will the money really go? Wages and employment or shareholders and business investments? John mentions the recent Anglicare report The Cost of Privilege - find out more here.

Kevin Healy - City Limits caught up with former tax commissioner John Passant on the current state of politics - Full interview Content warning: This interview contains descriptions of rape, sexual assault, sexual harassment, torture and the use of guns, that may be distressing to some listeners. If the content thas raised questions or caused distress to you, please call Lifeline (13 11 14), or Rape & Domestic Violence Services Australia (1800 211 028).Anneke Demanuele - National Union of Students(NUS) - Melbourne protest against the construction of the Adani mine in Northern Queensland - RALLY: Melbourne CBD on Friday 2pm, 567 Collins Street, 24th of November - FacebookDr. Holly Doel-Mackaway  - @4childrights - How the royal commission into NT youth detention has failed children. Roxanne Moore - @RoxyAmnestyOz - Indigenous Rights Campaigner at Amnesty International Australia. Petition here: https://www.amnesty.org.au/act-now/national-plan-of-action-kids-in-detention/     

  City Limits         22-11-17   Kevin and Meg are joined on the line by  John Passant.

We interview ex-assistant commissioner for taxation, John Passant on the issue of affordability in the housing sector and how this relates to the broader economic paradigm that we find ourselves in.

Is Australia about to lose it's AAA rating and if so how much sleep can we expect to lose? How sustainable is the state of the economy and the economic system in general?What repercussions does this have in terms of finding the funding for much needed infrastructure?  Former assistant commissioner of taxation, John Passant keeps us up-to-date with where we are at and what we can expect in a system that just keeps giving..... to the one percent.We also discuss the proposed redevelopment of Queen Victoria Market as well as the increasing development pressure that is being placed on market sites in general across the metropolitan area.The music is from Syrian Rue, a Perth outfit from the mid 2000's who (with a couple of additions and subtractions) went on to become Shock Octopus. 

This week we are joined by ex assistant commissioner for taxation, John Passant to discuss everything from the same sex marriage plebiscite to the inability of the powers that be to tax the banking sector's super profits.

Australian News:Socialist candidate for Fremantle takes aim at the corporate rorters; https://www.greenleft.org.au/node/61489Coral bleaching hits Great Barrier Reef as temperatures soar; https://www.greenleft.org.au/node/61482International News:Spain: Left denounces EU-Turkey refugee deal; https://www.greenleft.org.au/node/61517Interviews:John Passant re progressive taxation, Panama leaks. John is a member of Solidarity, and is a former assistant commissioner at the ATO in charge of international tax reform. John is a PhD candidate at Australian National University (ANU) in Canberra and runs the en passant blogSocialist Alliance Councillor Sue Bolton re: Wurundjeri treaty resolution @ Moreland council. Moreland council has resolved to seek a treaty with custodians the Wurundjeri people whose land Moreland sits within.Brisbane Socialist Alliance member Liam Flenady regarding his session on the European left he will be giving at the Socialism for the 21st century conference coming up in Sydney from May 13-15. socialismforthe21stcentury.orgSpike from the Bendigo street occupation to get an update on the situation there and discussing broader issues of housing availability, homelessness and disused / unoccupied buildings (both publicly and privately owned) across Melbourne. HPUV facebook here 

You can read more of John Passant's analysis of taxation and politics at http://enpassant.com.au/

On this episode we talk to Dr Phil Griffiths from the University of Southern Queensland about what the environmental consequences of a worldwide minimum wage of US $15 an hour would be. Then we discuss the latest proposed federal tax changes with John Passant.