Skol and cross words
As much we like the simplicity of the Australian political system,
The Note has always wondered why we have failed to follow our British roots and the breakaway larrikin culture to see some joke parties seriously contest our elections.
Apart from a few moderately amusing parties that appeared in the ACT (where else) in the 1980s, our research suggests Bob Katter’s Australia Party, One Nation and The Greens are as silly as it gets here. How boring, especially, given our preferential voting system, where even a nonsense vote can be made to count. Where is the likes of the Screaming Lord Sutch’s Official Monster Raving Loony Party which has contested election in the United Kingdom since 1983, following a succession of earlier guises.
It was with much hope, when The Note received a tip from a colleague that the Pirate Party Australia had been registered by the Australian Electoral Commission. Unfortunately, we’ve been a bit disappointed. Firstly, its only ‘state’ branch is in the ACT. Worse, it claimed to have the very worthy core tenets of freedom of information and culture, civil and digital liberties and governmental transparency ... don’t they all?
The newly registered party is part of a worldwide International Pirate Party movement started in Sweden a few years ago, which was mainly focused on privacy, transparency and copyright in connection with the internet.
The Scandinavian version of silly is so serious. Then again, we gave them Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, perhaps this is revenge?
Big event
In a place like Perth, when you stumble across a listed company called Success Resources Global (ASX code SGU), you expect to find a minerals explorer in Mali or an oil hopeful in Yemen.
Instead, West Perth-based SGU is in the events, training and motivation game. Its current Australian listed form goes back to 2009 when Singapore-based Success Resources International acquired ASX company Capital Intelligence Ltd, a stock market education and training company.
At the time Success Resources International said it was a group of companies comprising Success Resources, Asia’s largest seminar organiser, and SkyQuestCom Global, an online, real-time seminar firm.
Lately, SGU has become very active.
About six months ago, it took over T.H.E Australia Pty Ltd, a company owned by Empowernet and Success Resources International’s associate, Singapore-based Success Resources Pte Ltd. They became substantial shareholders of SGU and now both hold about 30 per cent each, along with Success Resources International.
Empowernet’s sole director, Michael Burnett, is Australia’s self-proclaimed largest and most successful events promoter of wealth creation, large-scale business and personal development programs.
Last week, SGU announced it plans to buy the assets of Success Resources Pte Ltd for 3.33 billion shares, nearly seven times the current number of issued shares. The proposed price per share is $0.006 each, giving the deal a valuation of just shy of $20 million, a sum it plans to raise as a condition of completing the deal.
Its shares last traded at $0.012 each, giving it a market capitalisation of almost $6 million.
