Author: roymorgansocial

ACTU boss opposes tax cut for workers

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Original article by Greg Brown
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 10-Jul-20

ACTU secretary Sally McManus has urged the federal government to extend the JobKeeper wage subsidy scheme for an additional six months. It is slated to end in late September, but McManus says the union movement will not support an extension of temporary changes to workplace laws unless the scheme is extended for all eligible workers. McManus also opposes bringing forward personal income tax cuts, arguing that it will lead to less money being spent on essential services. She adds that company tax cuts should not be considered until tax loopholes and rorts have been addressed.

CORPORATES
ACTU

Lockdown to trigger more loan distress

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Original article by Cliona O’Dowd
The Australian – Page: 13 & 20 : 10-Jul-20

Data from the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority shows that banks have deferred 18 per cent of small business loans in response to the coronavirus pandemic. Morgan Stanley has warned that that many businesses in Melbourne that have been forced to shut down for a second time may never re-open, particularly smaller ones. The APRA figures also show that more than 10 per cent of home loan repayments have been put on hold. Loans to investors account for 34 per cent of home loan repayments that have been deferred, prompting concern that there may be a surge in distressed selling.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, MORGAN STANLEY AUSTRALIA LIMITED

Virus slowdown: call to waive penalty rates

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 7 : 9-Jul-20

The Master Builders Association and the Housing Industry Association want the Fair Work Commission to make temporary changes to the construction industry award in response to the coronavirus pandemic. The Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining & Energy Union opposes any move to vary the award so construction workers do not receive penalty rates for working outside their regular hours. Richard Crookes Constructions is among the building firms that have expressed support for temporary changes to the award.

CORPORATES
MASTER BUILDERS AUSTRALIA INCORPORATED, HOUSING INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION LIMITED, CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MARITIME, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, RICHARD CROOKES CONSTRUCTIONS PTY LTD

HomeBuilder scheme prompts oversupply fears

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Original article by Nila Sweeney
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 31 : 9-Jul-20

Some residential property developers have reported a sharp rise in sales since the federal government announced its six-month HomeBuilder scheme in June. Cedar Woods’ chief financial officer Leon Hanrahan has warned that some developers could overbuild in response to the scheme, resulting in an oversupply of new housing. Jeremy Sheppard of Select Residential Property says the risk of an oversupply is particularly high at housing estates in the outer suburbs of capital cities.

CORPORATES
CEDAR WOODS PROPERTIES LIMITED – ASX CWP, SELECT RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY

Call to strip Rio of global ranking

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Original article by Victoria Laurie
The Australian – Page: 5 : 9-Jul-20

Rio Tinto is the highest-ranking mining company on the annual Corporate Human Rights Benchmark, which assesses 200 of the world’s largest listed companies in terms of their human rights record. Indigenous and human rights groups have called for Rio Tinto to be removed from the Benchmark in response to its destruction of ancient rock shelters in the Pilbara. Vale was suspended from the Benchmark in 2019 following a dam collapse in Brazil.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, CORPORATE HUMAN RIGHTS BENCHMARK, VALE SA

Australia among highest corporate tax collectors: OECD

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Original article by Matthew Cranston, Tom McIlroy
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 7 : 9-Jul-20

A report from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation & Development shows that corporate tax accounted for about 5.5 per cent of Australia’s GDP in 2017. This compares with an average of three per cent across all OECD member nations. The US and the Bahamas are among 15 jurisdictions whose corporate tax rates comprise less than two per cent of GDP. Treasurer Josh Frydenberg contends that Australia’s lower value add tax is a key reason for the nation’s personal and corporate income tax rates being higher than the OECD average.

CORPORATES
ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY

Community transmission makes Victoria coronavirus outbreak more precarious and challenging

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Original article by Tegan Taylor
abc.net.au – Page: Online : 9-Jul-20

Federal MP Katie Allen notes that people returning from overseas accounted for 90 per cent of coronavirus cases in Australia’s first wave. However, the former medical researcher says the majority of cases now being recorded in Victoria are due to community transmission. La Trobe University epidemiologist Hassan Vally says the state government has taken appropriate action to curb the virus’s spread via community transmission, but he stresses that individuals must accept responsibility and comply with lockdown rules. Vally has also cautioned against complacency, warning that a similar coronavirus surge could occur elsewhere in Australia.

CORPORATES
LA TROBE UNIVERSITY

PM vows to break Victoria’s fall

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Original article by Matthew Cranston, Andrew Tillett
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 6 : 9-Jul-20

Victoria recorded 134 new coronavirus cases on 8 July, as metropolitan Melbourne prepared to go into lockdown for six weeks. The virus outbreak in Victoria is set to dominate the national cabinet’s agenda when it meets on 10 July, while Prime Minister Scott Morrison has flagged extending the JobKeeper wage subsidy beyond late September. Treasurer Josh Frydenberg in turn says the federal government will look at bringing forward legislated personal income tax cuts in order to stimulate the economy. The government is also considering measures such as providing greater incentives for business investment.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY

ABC joins calls for tech titans to pay for news

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Original article by Lilly Vitorovich
The Australian – Page: 7 : 9-Jul-20

The ABC’s MD David Anderson has used a National Press Club speech to argue that the public broadcaster should be included in a revenue-sharing agreement with digital companies such as Google and Facebook. He said this revenue could be reinvested in public interest journalism. Anderson also contended that the ABC provides "great value" in return for its annual budget of more than $1bn. The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission’s draft mandatory code for digital companies is expected to be released by the end of July.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION

Banks must go harder on costs: KPMG

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Original article by James Frost
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 16 : 9-Jul-20

KPMG partner Hessel Verbeek warns that Australia’s banks face the prospect of single-digit returns on equity in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. He argues that they will have to be much more aggressive in reducing costs. Verbeek has identified branch closures and product rationalisation as some of the areas that offer scope for cost savings. He notes that overseas banks have been much more active in pursuing such strategies; Australian banks have closed just 14 per cent of their branches since 2015, while British banks have closed 33 per cent.

CORPORATES
KPMG AUSTRALIA PTY LTD