Author: roymorgansocial

Doyle harassment report of no use to cops

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Original article by Chip Le Grand
The Australian – Page: 8 : 15-Mar-18

Tessa Sullivan has indicated that she could pursue legal action against the "Herald Sun" over its coverage of the sexual harassment allegations against Melbourne’s former Lord Mayor, Robert Doyle. She has also not ruled out criminal charges against Doyle, whose alleged misconduct prompted her to resign from the Melbourne City Council. Sullivan has not made a formal complaint to Victoria Police about Doyle, and a spokeswoman says it will not request a copy of Ian Freckelton’s report on the allegations unless a formal complaint is made.

CORPORATES
MELBOURNE CITY COUNCIL, VICTORIA POLICE, MELBOURNE HEALTH

Restaurants, cafes back retail call for pay freeze

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Original article by Ewin Hannan, Simone Fox Koob
The Australian – Page: 5 : 15-Mar-18

The restaurant and catering industry association has voiced its support for the National Retail Association’s call for the minimum wage to be left unchanged in 2018. Its submission to the Fair Work Commission argues that a rise in the minimum wage cannot be justified given the current economic conditions. The Australian Retailers Association has proposed increasing the minimum wage by $A13.20 a week, in line with the inflation rate, while Master Grocers Australia has called for a rise of just $A7.20 a week.

CORPORATES
RESTAURANT AND CATERING INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION OF AUSTRALIA INCORPORATED, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, AUSTRALIAN RETAILERS ASSOCIATION, MASTER GROCERS’ AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, ACTU, IGA, FOODWORKS SUPERMARKET GROUP LIMITED, BOTTLE-O, MITRE 10 LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY

Beazley backs Swan for president’s role

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Original article by Troy Bramston
The Australian – Page: 6 : 15-Mar-18

Former Labor leader Kim Beazley says Wayne Swan would make a "very good" president of the federal Labor party and provide Opposition Leader Bill Shorten with valuable campaign advice. Shorten has also endorsed the former treasurer’s candidacy for Labor president, although ex-prime minister Kevin Rudd says Swan would be divisive at a time when Labor needs "unity of purpose". Labor’s climate change and energy spokesman Mark Butler is seeking a second term as the party’s president.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, TRANSPORT WORKERS’ UNION

Shorten in scramble to fix tax grab

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Original article by Simon Beavis
The Australian – Page: 1 & 6 : 15-Mar-18

Federal Opposition Leader Bill Shorten has signalled that he is open to a compromise regarding plans to unwind changes to the dividend imputation system, amid concern about the potential impact on retirees. Shorten has conceded that about 250,000 pensioners would be affected by the policy, and he has indicated that Labor will look at measures to ensure that they are not worse off. The Self-Managed Super Fund ­Association and seniors groups have urged Labor to reconsider the policy, while Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has accused Labor of targeting pensioners and self-funded retirees in a "cash grab".

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, SMSF ASSOCIATION, NATIONAL SENIORS AUSTRALIA LIMITED, ASSOCIATION OF INDEPENDENT RETIREES (AIR) LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF HUMAN SERVICES. CENTRELINK

Chevron says sector needs more teamwork

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Original article by Brad Thompson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 18 : 15-Mar-18

Chevron Australia MD Nigel Hearne has called for more co-operation among the nation’s oil and gas producers. He has cited the three separate LNG processing facilities on Curtis Island in Queensland as an example of how industry players could have collaborated in building the infrastructure. Meanwhile, Western Australian Premier Mark McGowan has ruled out relaxing the state’s gas reservation policy to allow gas to be shipped to the east coast unless WA gets a more equitable share of goods and services tax revenue.

CORPORATES
CHEVRON AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, CHEVRON CORPORATION, WESTERN AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PREMIER AND CABINET, WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL, ROYAL DUTCH SHELL PLC, INPEX CORPORATION, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION

Renewables must be low-cost, says Adani local executive

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Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 15-Mar-18

India-based Adani will start generating renewable energy in Australia later in 2018, when the first stage of its Rugby Run solar farm in Queensland begins operating. It is part of a push by the coal miner to have 1,500 megawatts of renewable energy capacity in Australia by 2022. Adani has indicated that it could invest in other renewables in Australia, such as pumped hydro and wind power, while it may also invest in renewable energy production in Western Australia. Rugby Run has a long-term supply contract with Alinta Energy.

CORPORATES
ADANI ENTERPRISES LIMITED, ADANI MINING PTY LTD, ALINTA ENERGY (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, AURIZON HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX AZJ

MCA cedes ground to BHP over climate

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 15-Mar-18

BHP Billiton may back down on its threat to withdraw from the Minerals Council of Australia after the lobby group released its revised climate policy. The MCA has been criticised by BHP for advocating coal-fired power generation, but its revised policy adopts a similar position to BHP regarding a "technology-neutral approach" to low-emission energy sources. Rio Tinto in turn has welcomed the MCA’s new policy stance and urged shareholders to reject resolutions to be put before its upcoming AGM by the Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility.

CORPORATES
BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, MINERALS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, AUSTRALASIAN CENTRE FOR CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY

Mongolia anti-corruption squad seeks info from Rio unit

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 15-Mar-18

Turquoise Hill Resources has advised that the Mongolian Anti-Corruption Authority is investigating the potential abuse of power by "authorised officials" during negotiations for the Oyu Tolgoi investment agreement in 2008. Turquoise Hill, which has a 66 per cent stake in the copper mine, is in turn controlled by Rio Tinto. Turquoise Hill – which was called Ivanhoe Mines negotiations were being held – has stressed that there are no indications that Oyu Tolgoi itself is being investigated. Rio Tinto held a stake of less than 10 per cent in the company at the time.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, TURQUOISE HILL RESOURCES LIMITED, OYU TOLGOI LLC, MONGOLIAN ANTI-CORRUPTION AUTHORITY, MONGOLIAN TAX AUTHORITY, SOMO

Carve-up of cricket TV rights looms

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Original article by John Stebbins, Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 18 : 15-Mar-18

Cricket Australia has set a deadline of 19 March to submit bids for a new six-year deal for cricket broadcasting rights. The tender documents show that Cricket Australia is open to allowing some Test and one-day international matches in Australia to be broadcast exclusively on pay-TV. Cricket Australia proposes to offer up to 11 separate broadcast packages, with media companies being able to bid for some or all of them. This could enable the Nine Network to make a joint bid with Foxtel for all forms of the game or allow Seven to gain some cricket rights.

CORPORATES
CRICKET AUSTRALIA, NINE NETWORK AUSTRALIA LIMITED, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, SEVEN NETWORK LIMITED, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED, CBS CORPORATION, BIG BASH LEAGUE, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, SINGTEL OPTUS PTY LTD, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, AMAZON.COM INCORPORATED, TWITTER INCORPORATED

Aurizon slams state competition watchdog for ignoring real world

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Original article by Jenny Wiggins
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 16 : 14-Mar-18

Rail freight operator Aurizon Holdings has formally responded to the Queensland Competition Authority’s draft ruling on its coal rail network in the state. Aurizon estimates that the draft ruling, which was issued in December, could potentially reduce its coal haulage volumes by up to 20 million tonnes a year, and it has argued that the draft ruling has weighed upon its share price.

CORPORATES
AURIZON HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX AZJ, QUEENSLAND. COMPETITION AUTHORITY, PACIFIC NATIONAL PTY LTD, RBC CAPITAL MARKETS, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, BM ALLIANCE COAL OPERATIONS PTY LTD, WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES, HERBERT SMITH FREEHILLS PTY LTD, QUEENSLAND RESOURCES COUNCIL LIMITED