Author: roymorgansocial

Frydenberg joins protest against media blocking

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Original article by Miranda Ward
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 2 : 15-Jan-21

Google’s revelation that it has ‘experimented’ with changes to its search and news algorithm has attracted scrutiny from the federal government. Treasurer Josh Frydenberg says digital platforms should be paying for news content rather than removing stories from Australian news publishers from its search results. Communications Minister Paul Fletcher says this issue demonstrates the power imbalance between Google and traditional news publishers.

CORPORATES
GOOGLE INCORPORATED, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INFRASTRUCTURE, TRANSPORT, REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND COMMUNICATIONS

Qld ready to impose short lockdowns

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Original article by Tom Burton
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 12-Jan-21

The Queensland government’s three-day lockdown of Greater Brisbane ended at 6pm on 11 January, after the state recorded a third consecutive day with no new cases of community transmission of COVID-19. However, four new cases in hotel quarantine have been confirmed; the partner of a quarantine hotel cleaner who contracted the highly-contagious UK variant has also been diagnosed with this strain of COVID-19. The government will maintain some coronavirus restrictions across Brisbane until at least 22 January, while Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has not ruled out further snap lockdowns if they are deemed necessary.

CORPORATES
QUEENSLAND. DEPT OF THE PREMIER AND CABINET

You need a permit to go home, Victorians told

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Original article by Rachel Baxendale
The Australian – Page: 4 : 12-Jan-21

Victoria’s Opposition Leader Michael O’Brien has criticised the state government’s new travel permit system for people who are returning from interstate, describing it as an ‘overreach’. He contends that the system will require Victorians to apply for permission from the government to enter the state even if they have been in a region that has never had a COVID-19 case. Failure to comply with the permit system will attract a fine of nearly $5,000. The government has also launched a ‘traffic light’ advisory system for people intending to travel interstate. Victoria has recorded five consecutive days with no new locally-acquired COVID-19 cases.

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LIBERAL PARTY OF VICTORIA

No-go zones: a nation divided

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Original article by Patrick Commins, Richard Ferguson
The Australian – Page: 1 & 5 : 12-Jan-21

Business leaders have criticised Western Australian Premier Mark McGowan after he acknowledged that the state is pursuing an elimination strategy for COVID-19. This is at odds with the national cabinet, which adopted a suppression strategy in 2020. Australian Industry Group CEO Innes Willox says an elimination strategy will merely "kill investment and job creation", while Council of Small Business Organisations CEO Peter Strong has warned that an elimination strategy would destroy the economic recovery. New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian contends that the total elimination of COVID-19 is impossible while Australians continue to return from overseas, adding that the goal should be zero community transmission.

CORPORATES
WESTERN AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PREMIER AND CABINET, THE AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY GROUP, COUNCIL OF SMALL BUSINESS ORGANISATIONS OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED, NEW SOUTH WALES. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET

WA flags battle over GST split

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Original article by Brad Thompson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 2 : 12-Jan-21

Western Australian Premier Mark McGowan says other states and the federal government must not seek to change the existing arrangement for distributing goods and services tax revenue. WA’s share of GST revenue is currently $0.70 in the dollar, having fallen to a low of about $0.30 in the dollar during the last mining boom. New South Wales in particular has criticised the GST equalisation deal, but McGowan argues that NSW now receives more than $0.90 in the dollar from GST revenue. He has also urged the federal government to resolve the ongoing trade tensions with China.

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WESTERN AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PREMIER AND CABINET

Gorgon LNG permits slashed by decade

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 12-Jan-21

Chevron will be required to renew its permit to operate the Gorgon LNG export facility on Barrow Island more frequently after the Western Australian government decided to amend it. Chevron was granted an amended 20-year permit in July 2018, but Environment Minister Stephen Dawson has reduced this to just 10 years, arguing that this is sufficient. The Conservation Council of WA had lobbied for Chevron’s permit to be reduced to just three years. Shipments from the Gorgon project commenced in March 2016. Gorgon is expected to be operational for about four decades.

CORPORATES
CHEVRON CORPORATION, WESTERN AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF ENVIRONMENT AND CONSERVATION, CONSERVATION COUNCIL OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA INCORPORATED

South32 set to dump coal mine project

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Original article by Nick Evans
The Australian – Page: 16 : 12-Jan-21

Diversified miner South32 is believed to be seeking a buyer for its 50 per cent stake in the Eagle Downs coking coal project in Queensland after deciding not to proceed with the partially-built mine. South32 acquired its stake in the project from Vale in 2018, several years after Eagle Downs was mothballed amid a fall in coal prices. South32 recently received a feasibility study on the project. Chinese steelmaker Baowu owns the other half of the Eagle Downs project.

CORPORATES
SOUTH32 LIMITED – ASX S32, CHINA BAOWU STEEL GROUP CORPORATION LIMITED, VALE SA

WA to keep approving mines while new heritage laws in limbo

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Original article by Brad Thompson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: Online : 12-Jan-21

Western Australian Premier Mark McGowan says Rio Tinto’s destruction of ancient indigenous rock shelters at Juukan Gorge will continue to have repercussions across the mining sector. However, McGowan says his government will not accept any blame for delays in project approvals in the wake of the scandal, arguing that mining companies are now likely to be more cautious about approving projects. He adds that the state government will continue to approve mining projects under section 18 of the Aboriginal Heritage Act, and that new heritage laws will be a priority if it wins the election in March.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, WESTERN AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PREMIER AND CABINET

Data risk alert in NZ reserve bank file hack

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Original article by Cliona O’Dowd, David Swan
The Australian – Page: 14 : 12-Jan-21

Reserve Bank of New Zealand governor Adrian Orr says the central bank is treating a data breach as a top priority, and the National Cyber Security Centre has been informed of the incident. Orr says the hackers had targeted Accellion rather than the RBNZ’s own computer systems; Accellion provides a third-party file-sharing service which the central bank uses to share and store sensitive information. Spotless is among the Australian companies that were targeted by hackers in 2020, and Prime Minister Scott Morrison warned in June of a rise in cyber attacks in both the public and private sectors.

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF NEW ZEALAND, ACCELLION INCORPORATED, SPOTLESS GROUP HOLDINGS LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

Printing body blasts Ovato over restructure, redundancies

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Original article by David Ross
The Australian – Page: 13 & 19 : 12-Jan-21

Listed printing and marketing services firm Ovato has attracted further scrutiny over its restructuring plan. Taxpayers will bear most of the cost of 330 redundancies at Ovato, via the federal government’s Fair Entitlements Guarantee scheme; this follows the company’s decision to transfer these workers to corporate entitles that have insufficient funds to pay creditors. Members of the print industry have described Ovato’s restructuring plan as an ‘asset strip’, while Print & Visual Communication Association president Walter Kuhn says the government should have stepped in and insisted that Ovato must pay all redundancy costs.

CORPORATES
OVATO LIMITED – ASX OVT, PRINT AND VISUL COMMUNICATIONS ASSOCIATION