Shuff's General Chat Thread ... #73 - Talk about anything and everything...  

Woman taking out the rubbish finds a sawn-off SHOTGUN hidden in a pair of pants dumped into her wheelie bin

QLD woman has found a firearm in her wheelie bin after taking out the rubbish
A swan-off shotgun was discovered in a pair of black Everlast pants in her bin
The shotgun was found at 8.30am on April 19 in Woodridge, south-east QLD
Police are investigating and ask for anyone with information to come forward

A woman was shocked to find a shotgun in her wheelie bin after taking out her morning rubbish.

She was confused to discover a stranger's black Everlast track pants in her bin — just outside her home on North Road in Woodridge, south-east of Brisbane.

But when she reached inside the bin, she found a sawn-off shotgun wrapped around the pants at 8.30am on Thursday.

The woman told police she found the shotgun wrapped around the pants when she reached for the piece of clothing in the bin.

A spokesman from Queensland police told Daily Mail Australia 'no person of interest or other items have been located.'

He also said that the track pants appear to be of a men's style and fit.

The police spokesman asked for members of the public who have any information to come forward.

Queensland police are currently investigating.

Amazon to block its US website for Aussie shoppers over new GST rules

Australians will be blocked from shopping on Amazon's international websites and restricted to using its smaller local platform so the e-commerce giant complies with new GST rules on online purchases.

Amazon said on Thursday that Amazon.com, its American website, and other overseas sites would no longer ship to Australian addresses from July 1. Shoppers visiting those sites will be redirected to Amazon.com.au, which launched late last year.

July 1 is the date new rules come into effect forcing online retailers to apply the 10 per cent GST to all online purchases being shipped to Australia from overseas.

GST currently only applies to items bought from overseas retailers worth more than $1000.

This so-called "Amazon tax" was brought in after heavy lobbying by local retailers - who have to apply GST to all sales, whether online or in store - to "even the playing field" with international online rivals.

"While we regret any inconvenience this may cause customers, we have had to assess the workability of the legislation as a global business with multiple international sites," an Amazon spokeswoman said.

Fellow online trader eBay also threatened to block foreign sellers if the tax changes went ahead. Fairfax Media has asked the marketplace platform if it intends to follow Amazon's lead.

Australian shoppers will still be able to access 60 million products available on Amazon.com.au, including many from international third-party sellers.

The company will also be launching a "global store", opening up access to another 4 million items previously only available on its American website.

However, the number of products available to Australians will only be a just fraction of the estimated 500 million available on Amazon.com.

Amazon's decision to not even ship products to Australia regardless of where they are purchased will scupper any plans tech-savvy shoppers might have to use geo-blocking software to get around the ban.

In a submission to a Productivity Commission inquiry into GST changes last year, Amazon said delivery companies like Australia Post, DHL and FedEx should be response for collecting the tax instead of vendors like itself, and eBay.

A model in which vendors collected GST was "fundamentally flawed" because it required voluntary compliance from thousands of offshore online retailers, Amazon argued, and consumers would simply seek out vendors that did not comply.

Putting the burden on a small number of logistics companies, which operated in the Australian Tax Office's jurisdiction, would ensure greater consistency and compliance.

Treasurer Scott Morrison's office has been contacted for comment.