Author: roymorgansocial

Lib MPs in bid to ditch super boost

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Original article by Adam Creighton
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 22-Jul-19

The federal government is facing growing pressure from within its ranks to reconsider an increase in the superannuation guarantee from 9.5 per cent to 12 per cent by mid-2025. Andrew Hastie is among seven backbenchers who oppose the increase; he says it would be preferable for people to use this income to pay off their mortgage now rather than have to wait until they retire. Senator Amanda Stoker in turn says wage increases should be a higher priority at present than changes to the superannuation guarantee.

CORPORATES
LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, GRATTAN INSTITUTE, AUSTRALIA. PRODUCTIVITY COMMISSION, AUSTRALIA. PARLIAMENTARY BUDGET OFFICE, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY

No surplus sacrifice for dole boost

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 22-Jul-19

The federal government is resisting pressure from welfare groups and unions to increase the Newstart allowance by $75 a week. The Treasury estimates that this would cost $12.5bn over four years and $39bn over a decade, and it would slash the projected Budget surplus for 2019-20. Labor has also called for Newstart to be increased, although it has not nominated a figure. Employment Minister Michaelia Cash says the government’s priority is getting people off welfare and into the workforce, and notes that Labor has opposed or criticised all of the Coalition’s employment programs.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF JOBS AND SMALL BUSINESS, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, ACTU, NATIONAL SENIORS AUSTRALIA LIMITED, BUSINESS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, KPMG AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

At $200k, celebrity chef got off lightly

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 4 : 22-Jul-19

Attorney-General Christian Porter says that amongst other things, the federal government’s review of the industrial relations system will look at whether the penalties for underpaying wages are sufficient. He says many Australians would agree with his opinion that the $200,000 fine to be paid by celebrity chef George Calombaris was lenient. More than 500 employees at Calombaris’s restaurants were collectively underpaid some $7.8 million over six years. The ‘MasterChef’ judge says the majority have now received backpay.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK OMBUDSMAN, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Action on streaming set back until 2022

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Original article by Leo Shanahan
The Australian – Page: 24 : 22-Jul-19

A confidential consultation paper has recommended that the federal government delay a decision on whether live streaming is subject to the Broadcasting Act until 2022. The ministerial determination was made in 2000 by former Communications Minister Richard Alston, and it is slated to expire on 1 October 2019. The Department of Communications has advised that extending the so-called Alston determination would give the government more time to consider a broader range of ­reforms for broadcasting and streaming ser­vices, including its response to the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission’s report on digital platforms.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, FREE TV AUSTRALIA LIMITED, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM

ABC’s $100k taxpayer Life line

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Original article by Zoe Samios
The Australian – Page: 24 & 26 : 22-Jul-19

The ABC’s lifestyle website, which was launched on 6 August 2018, now boasts about 600,000 unique viewers each month, although this can vary from 500,000 to 820,000. In contrast, the public broadcaster’s suite of ABC News sites attracts more than 10 million unique viewers each month. The ABC Life site has attracted criticism from publishers, commercial networks and even some of the ABC’s own journalists. Meanwhile, ABC Life is seeking to hire an editor on a 12-month fixed-term contract, with a salary of more than $100,000.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, JUNKEE MEDIA PTY LTD, TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED, FREE TV AUSTRALIA LIMITED, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED, NEWSMEDIAWORKS, SPECIAL BROADCASTING SERVICE (SBS)

Lawyers probe Rio’s Mongolian maelstrom

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 18 : 19-Jul-19

US law firm Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro has advised that it will investigate the market disclosures of Rio Tinto and Turquoise Hill Resources with regard to the Oyu Tolgoi copper mine in Mongolia. The market capitalisation of Turquoise Hill recently fell sharply after Rio Tinto warned of a blowout in the cost of an underground expansion of the mine. Law firm Baker & McKenzie has previously flagged plans to scrutinise Rio Tinto’s disclosures regarding the project.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, TURQUOISE HILL RESOURCES LIMITED, OYU TOLGOI LLC, HAGENS BERMAN SOBOL SHAPIRO LLP, BAKER AND McKENZIE

Celebrity chef underpayments triple to $7.8m

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 8 : 19-Jul-19

The Made Establishment restaurant business of celebrity chef George Calombaris will pay staff more than $7.8 million in back pay under an agreement with the Fair Work Ombudsman. The amount is more than triple the $2.6 million that Made Establishment had estimated in 2017 that it might owe, while it will also pay a fine of $200,000. Unions have criticised the modest fine, while Hospo Voice union leader Orlaith Belfrage, who worked for Calombaris’s Hellenic Republic restaurant, says he should be taken off reality-TV program ‘Masterchef’.

CORPORATES
MADE ESTABLISHMENT PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK OMBUDSMAN, HOSPO VOICE

Browse project delays trigger lease warning

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Original article by Perry Williams
The Australian – Page: 20 : 19-Jul-19

The retention lease for the Browse gas field expires in mid-2020, but Woodside Petroleum does not expect to make a final investment decision on the project until the end of that year. Resources Minister Matt Canavan has held meetings with executives from Woodside and Browse partner Shell, and he is said to have sought an update on progress regarding the project. Canavan and the National Offshore Petroleum Titles Administrator have previously flagged the potential for the Browse partners to forfeit their leases under ‘use it or lose it’ provisions.

CORPORATES
WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL, ROYAL DUTCH SHELL PLC, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INDUSTRY, INNOVATION AND SCIENCE, AUSTRALIA. NATIONAL OFFSHORE PETROLEUM TITLES ADMINISTRATOR, CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, RBC CAPITAL MARKETS

Freeze on fixed pay for one in three execs

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Original article by Patrick Durkin
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 9 : 19-Jul-19

Just six CEOs from Australia’s top 25 companies did not get their fixed pay frozen in 2018, according to a report from PwC, while over a third of the top 100 CEOs had their fixed pay frozen. Seventy-seven per cent of CEOs of financial services companies had their fixed pay frozen, which was not surprising given the findings of the banking royal commission. The freeze at the top of company ranks is expected to extend further down, with a recent survey showing that over 37 per cent of CEOs are likely to either keep wages steady or adopt pay rises of between zero and two per cent.

CORPORATES
PRICEWATERHOUSECOOPERS AUSTRALIA (INTERNATIONAL) PTY LTD, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, CSL LIMITED – ASX CSL, JAMES HARDIE INDUSTRIES PLC – ASX JHX, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, GOODMAN GROUP – ASX GMG, TREASURY WINE ESTATES LIMITED – ASX TWE, WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, WOOLWORTHS GROUP LIMITED – ASX WOW, DOMINO’S PIZZA ENTERPRISES LIMITED – ASX DMP

Is Netflix falling out of favour? US viewers are shunning the streaming platform

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Original article by Zona Black
The New Daily – Page: Online : 19-Jul-19

Subscription video-on-demand giant Netflix had forecast that it would add 300,000 new US customers in the June 2019 quarter, but the number of subscribers fell by 130,000. The decline coincided with an increase in Netflix’s monthly fee, although it is also facing growing competition in the streaming video market. However, Netflix expects US subscriber numbers to rebound on the back of new content. Netflix had some 11 million paid subscribers in Australia in February, according to research by Roy Morgan, with year-on-year growth of 25.2 per cent.

CORPORATES
NETFLIX INCORPORATED, ROY MORGAN LIMITED