Author: roymorgansocial

Victorian Labor MP Adem Somyurek sacked, second minister quits amid explosive allegations

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Original article by Samantha Maiden, Sarah McPhee
News.com.au – Page: Online : 16-Jun-20

The Victorian government has referred former minister Adem Somyurek to the state’s Independent Broad-based Anti-Corruption Commission. Somyurek has denied the allegations of branch-stacking that prompted Premier Daniel Andrews to dismiss him from the ministry, and says he will seek a police investigation into recordings that were aired on ’60 Minutes’. Somyurek has also resigned as a member of Labor’s Victorian branch, pre-empting a move by Andrews to have him expelled. Robin Scott, a factional ally of Somyurek, has resigned as the state’s Assistant Treasurer over the scandal; there is speculation that consumer affairs minister Marlene Kairouz may also resign. It has been alleged that staff members of Scott and Kairouz were involved in the branch-stacking.

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AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, VICTORIA. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET, VICTORIA. INDEPENDENT BROAD-BASED ANTI-CORRUPTION COMMISSION

Investors need to mind the looming earnings gap

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Original article by Luke Housego
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 29 : 16-Jun-20

The coronavirus pandemic is set to weigh on the financial results of Australian-listed companies, with Morgan Stanley noting that the consensus forecast is for earnings to fall by 15.2 per cent in 2020. The average 12-month forward price-earnings ratios for the S&P/ASX 200 was 18.1 times before the recent sell-off, compared with a long-term average of around 14 times. Jason Steed of Morgan Stanley says a relatively small shift in earnings expectations when P/E ratios are high can prompt a sharp fall in share prices.

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MORGAN STANLEY AUSTRALIA LIMITED, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX

COVID-19 restrictions spark a record fall in workers’ pay

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Original article by Patrick Commins
The Australian – Page: 4 : 12-Jun-20

Wages growth fell by 0.7 per cent in the year to June, according to the Melbourne Institute’s latest monthly survey of workers. It is the first time there has been negative growth in pay since the early 2000s. Sam Tsiaplias of the Melbourne Institute notes that wages growth has been subdued for some years, and the economic impact of the pandemic is likely to put more downward pressure on wages. The latest data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, which predates the coronavirus lockdown, shows that its wage price index rose by 2.1 per cent in the year to March.

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UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE. INSTITUTE OF APPLIED ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL RESEARCH, AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS

Porter cuts fast-track rule on new work deals

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 9 : 12-Jun-20

Industrial Relations Minister Christian Porter has advised that a temporary change to workplace laws in response to the coronavirus has been repealed. The notice period for changes to enterprise agreements was reduced from seven days to just 24 hours in April, prompting unions to warn that it could be open to abuse. Porter says a review found no evidence that the regulation had been misused, and he stresses that the change was always intended to be temporary and is no longer needed. The Federal Court was scheduled to rule on the regulation’s validity on 12 June, following a legal challenge by the construction union.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT, SKILLS, SMALL AND FAMILY BUSINESS, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA

White elephant fears for Crown Sydney casino as China warns citizens not to travel to Australia

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Original article by Elias Visontay
The Guardian – Page: Online : 12-Jun-20

Crown Resorts is spending $2.2 billion on the construction of a casino complex at Barangaroo in Sydney. High-roller gamblers from China are seen as central to the casino’s business model, but the Chinese government’s recent warning that its citizens should not travel to Australia has seen industry experts claim that the business model is no longer viable. Academic Mike Harris says Crown may seek to secure a poker machine licence for the casino, although Star City recently signed a 21-year exclusivity deal with the New South Wales government for it to operate the only casino in Sydney with poker machines.

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CROWN RESORTS LIMITED – ASX CWN, THE STAR ENTERTAINMENT GROUP LIMITED – ASX SGR

Contract discounts cost AFL $150m

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Original article by John Stensholt
The Australian – Page: 3 : 12-Jun-20

Foxtel and Seven West Media struck revised broadcast deals with the Australian Football League just prior to the 2020 AFL season resuming on 11 June. The revised deals followed the AFL season being suspended for three months because of COVID-19, and will result in the two companies saving around $200 million on their AFL coverage over the next three years. Television companies had argued broadcast rights are worth less now than what they were previously because the AFL season has been shortened and the length of games have been reduced, while a lack of crowds has arguably reduced the quality of the broadcasts.

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FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, AUSTRALIAN FOOTBALL LEAGUE

Rip up the China deal

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Original article by Tom Minear, Clare Armstrong
Herald Sun – Page: 15 : 12-Jun-20

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has weighed into the controversy over the Victorian Government’s decision to sign up for China’s Belt and Road Initiative. Morrison has urged Premier Daniel Andrews to withdraw the state’s support for the infrastructure plan; he says the federal government does not believe that it is in Australia’s national interests, adding that the states and territories should not take actions that are inconsistent with the federal government’s foreign policy. Andrews says his government is fully committed to the Belt and Road Initiative.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, VICTORIA. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET

Regional TV on verge of market failure

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Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 12 : 12-Jun-20

The federal government may relax the local content requirements for regional TV broadcasters’ multi-channels due to their consistent failure to meet the hours-based quotas. The Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development & Communications notes that 12 regional or remote TV stations failed to comply with the Australian content quotas in 2017. This is primarily because regional broadcasters often chose not to carry some of the secondary channels of their metropolitan affiliates.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INFRASTRUCTURE, TRANSPORT, REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND COMMUNICATIONS

Heritage site row forces BHP to hold fire on $5b project

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Original article by Brad Thompson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 & 22 : 12-Jun-20

BHP has halted plans to destroy indigenous heritage sites as part of its development of the US3.6 billion ($5.2 billion) South Flank iron ore mine in Western Australia. The mine is slated to produce 80 million tonnes of ore per annum, with the WA government having given BHP permission to proceed with destruction of the sites in May. BHP has indicated that it will not disturb any of the sites in question until it has had more talks with the Banjima people. The traditional owners had welcomed the opportunities afforded by the development of the South Flank mine when a comprehensive agreement on its development was signed in 2015.

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BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO

Buy Australian, streaming services told

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Original article by Tom Burton, Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 12 : 12-Jun-20

A draft options paper from Screen Australia and the Australian Communications & Media Authority has outlined a range of possible changes to broadcasting rules. Amongst other things, the industry options paper proposes that subscription video-on-demand providers be subject to the same local content rules that apply to traditional broadcasters. Screen Australia and ACMA have also suggested that commercial networks could be released from their obligation to broadcast children’s content, given that many younger viewers now prefer to watch content online; the ABC would become the main provider of children’s programming on linear TV.

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SCREEN AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN COMMUNICATIONS AND MEDIA AUTHORITY, AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION