Some Australians aren't paying tax due to a rise in 'sovereign accounting'
www.abc.net.au
Groups spring up on social media, claiming to hold secret knowledge the Australian government is holding back from regular citizens: the Australian Taxation Office "isn't real".

The sovereign citizen movement rejects the legitimacy of the government. Its fast-growing popularity has had authorities scrambling to get a handle on how far its tentacles have reached.

Unfortunately, Mr Oxby was persuaded by this theory during the seminar, which I infer from his evidence, was presented in a persuasive and charismatic manner."

He was ultimately fined $14,000.

  • shortwavesurfer@monero.townEnglish
    11·
    8 months ago

    Okay, if the government is supposed to provide a basic quality of life, then they are failing at that job and need to be replaced.

    • goodthanks@lemmy.world
      2·
      8 months ago

      Absolutely, and that sheds some light on the commonality between our countries, even if the politics are a bit different. Major parties have abandoned the working class. Which requires better political engagement so we can vote ourselves out of this situation to get a fair deal and avoid what looks like the inevitable rise of right wing populism, which won’t help progress the situation at all.

      • shortwavesurfer@monero.townEnglish
        1·
        8 months ago

        Exactly, which also shows the differences because I very firmly believe that we cannot vote hard enough to escape this situation. I and many others have lost complete trust in our institutions and we act accordingly. Why vote when it does no good? In fact, if anything else, I would be willing to vote for shit policies in order to watch the train wreck happen faster in order to get to a better place faster.

        • goodthanks@lemmy.world
          1·
          8 months ago

          I don’t know how the USA can fix its shit political situation. You guys should have had a chance at voting in Bernie in 2016, but you didn’t have the chance. Australia isn’t as far down that path yet, but at least we have mandatory voting, so have a better chance at achieving a good result through political education, which will only occur through discussions with our social circles. I don’t think accelerationist ideas will achieve a positive outcome though. It’s first about imagining a better alternative, and being vocal about it. Every person who works for a living should have affordable housing and healthcare, for example, without incurring a 30 year debt or going bankrupt. It happened in the post WW2 era, it can happen again if enough people demand it.