Author: roymorgansocial

Albanese on course for at least six years in power

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by David Crowe
Brisbane Times – Page: Online : 30-May-22

Labor has officially won 75 seats at the 21 May election and appears set to gain the additional seat that is needed to form majority government. The policy agenda of new Prime Minister Anthony Albanese suggests that he expects at least two terms in office, and his stated goal is to go to the 2025 federal election having delivered on his election pledges. Meanwhile, Labor could win even more seats from the Liberals if it governs with competence and care. However, negotiating with Greens leader Adam Bandt will be the biggest challenge for Albanese.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIAN GREENS

AGL in crisis as split founders

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith, Anthony Macdonald
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 15 : 30-May-22

AGL Energy’s board is expected to issue a formal statement on its proposed demerger before the market opens on Monday. There is growing speculation that AGL is set to abandon the demerger and will consider alternative options, amid pressure from major shareholder Mike Cannon-Brookes. The future of CEO Graeme Hunt and chairman Peter Botten is also uncertain, and they were both said to be considering their positions on Sunday. Cannon-Brookes’ private company Grok Ventures intends to seek two seats on AGL’s board if the demerger does not proceed.

CORPORATES
AGL ENERGY LIMITED – ASX AGL, GROK VENTURES

Swiss cheese shield laws set for review

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Lydia Lynch
The Australian – Page: 23 : 30-May-22

Queensland recently became the last Australian jurisdiction to pass legislation to protect journalists from naming their confidential sources in court. Adam Portelli of the Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance says the introduction of uniform ‘shield’ laws is urgently needed, and the MEAA will urge the new federal government to do so. Portelli argues that the "Swiss cheese" nature of Australia’s shield laws deter potential whistleblowers from coming forward. Human Rights Law Centre lawyer Kieran Pender has also called for consistent shield laws nationwide.

CORPORATES
MEDIA, ENTERTAINMENT AND ARTS ALLIANCE, HUMAN RIGHTS LAW CENTRE LIMITED

Beijing takes swipe at arrogant Wong

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Stephen Rice
The Australian – Page: 4 : 30-May-22

Foreign Minister Penny Wong has been accused of "double standards, arrogant colonialism and imperialism" in an editorial in the’ Global Times’, China’s most influential state tabloid. This follows her attempts to dissuade Pacific nations from entering into a regional security deal with Beijing. China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi will put details of the proposed deal to a meeting of Pacific leaders in Fiji on 30 May. Wong visited Fiji just days after her appointment to affirm Australia’s commitment to the Pacific region, observing that Australia is a" partner that doesn’t come with strings attached".

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND TRADE

Albanese backs grand bargain with big business and unions

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Rachel Baxendale
The Australian – Page: 5 : 30-May-22

The ACTU and the Business Council of Australia have indicated they hope to use the federal government’s employment summit in September to implement an co-operative agenda that will see growth in productivity and higher wages. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says the key to achieving such a "grand bargain" is a government that is willing to broker it, and that brings people together. He claims he has always said that unions and businesses have common interests, and that the best way to boost both wages and profits without putting pressure on inflation is by increasing productivity.

CORPORATES
ACTU, BUSINESS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

Eyeballs on the march as free-to-air TV slumps

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by James Madden, Sophie Elsworth
The Australian – Page: 15 & 23 : 30-May-22

Analysis of ratings data from OzTAM highlights the decline of free-to-air television in Australia. SBS has increased its audience by 15 per cent since 2012, but viewership of the other FTA broadcasters has declined. This decline is particularly acute in the breakfast timeslot; the average weekday metropolitan audience of Seven Network’s ‘Sunrise’ was 260,650 in 2021, compared with 364,445 in 2012, while the average audience of Nine’s ‘Today’ has fallen from 334,954 to just 219,032. The increasingly crowded streaming market has accelerated the decline of FTA in recent years. However, Ben Willee of Spinach Advertising says TV is still a powerful medium for reaching audiences.

CORPORATES
OZTAM PTY LTD, SPECIAL BROADCASTING SERVICE (SBS), SEVEN NETWORK LIMITED, NINE NETWORK AUSTRALIA LIMITED, SPINACH ADVERTISING PTY LTD

Glencore tried to sell Yancoal stake to parent

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 30-May-22

Yankuang Energy’s bid to gain full ownership of Yancoal Australia will need the support of Glencore, which has a 6.4 per cent stake in the target. Hong Kong-listed Yankuang has a 62.26 per cent stake in Yancoal, and the support of Glencore will be needed if it is to reach the 90 per cent threshold to move to compulsory acquisition. This would also require ownership restrictions imposed on Yancoal by the Foreign Investment Review Board in 2012 to be overturned. Meanwhile, it has emerged that Glencore has sought on a number of occasions in recent years to sell its Yancoal stake to Yankuang, and it is likely to be a willing seller at the right price.

CORPORATES
YANCOAL AUSTRALIA LIMITED – ASX YAL, YANKUANG ENERGY GROUP COMPANY LIMITED, GLENCORE PLC

COVID-19, wet weather see Australian gold output fall in March quarter

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Neil Watkinson
The West Australian – Page: Online : 30-May-22

Data from Surbiton Associates shows that Australia’s gold production fell by six per cent quarter-quarter in the three months to March, to 76 tonnes. Westgold and Silver Lake Resources are among the companies whose Western Australian operations were affected by COVID-19 during the period, with the latter withdrawing its guidance for the June quarter due to the pandemic and supply chain disruptions. A combination of the virus and heavy rainfall affected gold production at a number of mines across Australia.

CORPORATES
SURBITON ASSOCIATES PTY LTD, WESTGOLD RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX WGX, SILVER LAKE RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX SLR

Alert on $45bn Labor spree

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Patrick Commins
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 30-May-22

S&P Global Ratings has warned that the federal government’s "off-balance-sheet" election promises could potentially put Australia’s coveted AAA credit rating at risk. Labor announced nearly $45bn worth of spending commitments during the election, including its "rewiring the nation" program and funding for social and affordable housing. The ratings agency’s lead country analyst Anthony Walker says off-balance sheet spending is automatically included in its assessment of a nation’s financial position. Walker adds that further government spending risks fuelling inflation and more aggressive tightening of monetary policy.

CORPORATES
S&P GLOBAL RATINGS, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Gas workers threaten bans over outsourcing

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 6 : 26-May-22

Production workers on Shell’s Prelude floating LNG facility are preparing to launch industrial action, Amongst other things, they are seeking a ban on the outsourcing of jobs to contractors on lower pay than that of direct employees who do the same job. Australian Workers’ Union national secretary Daniel Walton says it will not budge from the basic starting point that workers doing the same work on the same site should be paid the same rate.

CORPORATES
SHELL COMPANY OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED, SHELL PLC, AUSTRALIAN WORKERS’ UNION-FEDERATION OF INDUSTRIAL, MANUFACTURING AND ENGINEERING EMPLOYEES