The Iron Fist and the Velvet Glove

The Iron Fist and the Velvet Glove


Episode 254 – Trade Sanctions and Forseeable Harm

May 19, 2020

This Morrison government knows nothing about business, diplomacy or democracy.
This is getting serious now
This hopeless Morrison government fucked up the Covid 19 economic rescue (money to companies without asking if they are in trouble, big money to job seeker which encouraged employers to sack employees and then big money to job keeper but too late (employees already sacked) and job keeper is paid in arrears so cashflow makes it unworkable), is unnecessarily fucking up our relationship with China and wants to fuck up our future rights by allowing Peter Dutton to set up a Home Office Stasi.
They do not understand business, they do not understand foreign relations and they have no regard for democracy.
Imagine if Bill Shorten did half of that?
And if that wasn’t bad enough …
American style nut cases are here and they want Bill gates arrested
And my right wing friends are lurching even further right
Repeating Anti-China rhetoric and pro-trump talking points (Obamagate)
In 6 months It’s going to get even more serious
By Robert Gottlebsen in The Australian. Yes The Australian.
There is a 6 month time bomb ticking
The sharemarket, the banks and many solvent smaller enterprises are suddenly getting very jittery that in less than six months time there will be an unprecedented rise in the failure rate among small and medium sized enterprises.
Real unemployment – ABS unemployment statistics are useless – is going through the roof and is close to 20 per cent, triggered by a catastrophic slump in the small and medium sized business sector led by hospitality, retail and tertiary education services.
Liquidations, receiverships and official administrations have risen strongly, but at nowhere near the rate that could have been expected following such a big fall in economic activity.
Liquidators who operate in this area are warning anyone who will listen that there are a vast number of enterprises that are really insolvent but are still trading.
Normally the provisions of the Companies Act that make directors of a company personally liable if they trade while insolvent causes companies to face the crisis very quickly.
But as part of the COVID-19 measures, the government passed legislation that gives directors six months of temporary relief from personal liability for trading while insolvent.
The legislation states that the relief only covers the debts incurred in the ordinary course of a company’s business. But that definition is broad, so many businesses are continuing to trade even though they have a little chance of coming out solvent in six months’ time.
‘There are a vast number of enterprises that are really insolvent but are still trading.’
The government’s plan, back at the end of March, was that enterprises would be put in virtual hibernation while COVID-19 was controlled and then would snap back to life when the restrictions were eased.
Accordingly, JobKeeper and many other measures finish at the end of September.
Although it is possible some measures might be extended further in a reduced form, in October enterprises must start resume paying their employees. Around the same time, directors are returned to being personally liable for debts incurred when there is a reasonable belief that the company is insolvent.
Some enterprises will have been able to use the moratorium to survive and will snap back. But many others are already insolvent – virtually zombie companies – and so will throw in the towel.
As the number of failing companies spikes it will spark a volley of new failures from companies that are currently solvent but will bite the dust because they will not be able to c...