Jacinda Ardern demands answers, vows gun reform

Original article by Nick O’Malley, Jacob Saulwick, David Crowe
The Sydney Morning Herald – Page: Online : 18-Mar-19

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says that Brenton Tarrant should have been known to authorities. Tarrant has been charged with one count of murder following his attack on two Christchurch mosques that left 50 people dead and 56 in hospital. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison says it is his understanding that Tarrant was not on anyone’s radar, while it appears that Tarrant may have become radicalised as a result of exposure to internet white-supremacist groups. Ardern says she will reform New Zealand’s gun laws in the wake of the shootings.

CORPORATES
NEW ZEALAND. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

Spy boss joins terror fight

Original article by Paul Maley, Deborah Cornwall, Ean Higgins
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 18-Mar-19

The Australian Security Intelligence Organisation will step up its monitoring of local right-wing extremists in the wake of the attack on two mosques in Christchurch. Federal cabinet’s ­National Security Committee will be briefed by ASIO’s director-general Duncan Lewis and Australian Federal Police Commissioner Andrew Colvin on 18 March. Meanwhile, New Zealand Police Commissioner Mike Bush says the alleged perpetrator Brenton Tarrant seems to have been acting alone, and three other people who were arrested following the attacks are not believed to have been involved.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN SECURITY INTELLIGENCE ORGANISATION, AUSTRALIAN FEDERAL POLICE, AUSTRALIA. NATIONAL SECURITY COMMITTEE, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF HOME AFFAIRS, NEW ZEALAND. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

Intention to purchase new motor vehicles declining

Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 18-Mar-19

Roy Morgan’s ‘Automotive Currency Report-Quarterly Detailed Report: December 2018’ shows that 2.125 million Australians intend to purchase a new vehicle in the next four years, the lowest level since November 2014 and below the 15-year long-term average. This represents a decline of 135,000 or 6.0% from December 2017. In addition, one-year new vehicle buying intentions are down by 61,000 (9.9%) to be currently on 553,000. Among intending new vehicle buyers over the next four years, there is an increasing level of interest in alternative fuels to petrol. The share of new vehicle sales in Australia in 2018 (VFACTS) that had petrol engines was 75.0%. This compares with only 61.9% among intending buyers over the next four years, who think that their next vehicle would most likely have a petrol engine. Alternatives to petrol all showed higher preference levels among intenders compared to their share of current sales. Diesel was 3.6% points higher among intenders (27.6%) compared to share of sales (24.0%), Hybrid (petrol and electric) was higher by 7.1% points (to 8.0%), fully electric higher by 2.0% points (to 2.1%) and LPG 0.3% points higher (to 0.3%). The report is based on data collected from Roy Morgan’s Single Source survey, which involves in-depth interviews conducted face-to-face with over 50,000 Australian consumers per annum in their homes.

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ROY MORGAN LIMITED

Greens’ $20m man now says no more tax breaks

Original article by Chip Le Grand, Christine Lacy
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 15-Mar-19

Prominent barrister and Greens candidate Julian Burnside has declined to disclose whether he used negative gearing to build a property portfolio that is estimated to be worth about $20m. The Greens want to abolish negative gearing on all future residential property purchases, while its policy would restrict existing investors to negatively gearing just one property. Burnside says it is not fair that the system benefits wealthy people such as himself at the expense of first-home buyers. The Greens policies will not affect his investment portfolio.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN GREENS, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, MELBOURNE SAVAGE CLUB, MARITIME UNION OF AUSTRALIA, PATRICK STEVEDORES HOLDINGS PTY LTD

Kelty warns ALP on wages

Original article by Troy Bramston, Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 15-Mar-19

Labor will use its submission to the Fair Work Commission’s review of the minimum wage to push for an above-inflation increase in 2019. Meanwhile, former ACTU secretary Bill Kelty says any increase in the minimum wage must reflect the economy’s capacity to absorb it. He adds that a rise in the minimum wage must be linked to productivity gains. Kelty also supports Labor’s proposal for a living wage, stating that it would benefit the economy and make enterprise bargaining more effective.

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AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, ACTU, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, THE AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY GROUP, AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY, NATIONAL RETAIL ASSOCIATION LIMITED

Dated media policies need fixing: Labor

Original article by Zoe Samios
The Australian – Page: 7 : 15-Mar-19

Shadow communications minister Michelle Rowland has accused the federal government of adopting a piecemeal approach to media policy, claiming that it lacks a "coherent reform agenda". She adds that Australia’s media policy and industry regulation is a legacy of the analogue era and needs to be updated to take into account the rise of digital platforms.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS

Emissions target will cut wages, ACTU told

Original article by Joe Kelly, Greg Brown
The Australian – Page: 4 : 15-Mar-19

Unions have criticised Energy Minister Angus Taylor after he warned them of the potential impact of Labor’s greenhouse gas policy on wages. Taylor has written to unions claiming that wages could be reduced by $9,000 under Labor’s proposed 45 per cent emissions reduction target. The Electrical Trades Union has accused Taylor of "rank political opportunism" in targeting its members shortly before a federal election. Meanwhile, Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton says taxpayers’ funds should not be used to build new coal-fired power stations. He says this would result in less funding for infrastructure such as roads.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, ELECTRICAL TRADES UNION, ACTU, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF HOME AFFAIRS, GETUP LIMITED, BAECONOMICS PTY LTD, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA

AFL kicking goals as Toyota signs record $18.5m annual sponsorship deal

Original article by John Stensholt
The Australian – Page: 21 & 24 : 15-Mar-19

Toyota has renewed its naming-rights sponsorship deal with the Australian Football League until 2023. The car-make will pay $18.5m a year to be the AFL’s major sponsor, compared with $16m annually under its current deal. As part of the new deal, Toyota will also become the AFL’s official community partner, as well as the official automotive partner of the women’s AFL competition. The AFL’s latest financial report shows that it boasted revenue of more than $200m from commercial operations in 2018, including sponsorship packages.

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AUSTRALIAN FOOTBALL LEAGUE, TOYOTA MOTOR CORPORATION AUSTRALIA LIMITED, NATIONAL RUGBY LEAGUE, TENNIS AUSTRALIA, KIA MOTORS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

Wharfies to strike over pay scheme

Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 2 : 15-Mar-19

DP World’s container terminal at Fremantle will be affected by work bans and rolling stoppages from 19 March. The indefinite industrial action is likely to be extended to DP World’s other container terminals in Australia in coming weeks unless the dispute is resolved. The Maritime Union of Australia has objected to DP World’s proposal to scrap an income protection scheme. The union is also seeking an annual pay rise of five per cent over three years, but DP World has offered a 2.6 per cent increase.

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DP WORLD AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, MARITIME UNION OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION

CBA shelves wealth sale on Hayne hit

Original article by Richard Gluyas
The Australian – Page: 21 & 25 : 15-Mar-19

The Commonwealth Bank has advised that the divestment of its wealth and mortgage broking assets has been put on hold to allow it to focus on implementing the Hayne royal commission’s recommendations and its customer remediation program. National Australia Bank also recently indicated that it will postpone its proposed demerger of wealth manager MLC due to the fallout from the royal commission.

CORPORATES
COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO MISCONDUCT IN THE BANKING, SUPERANNUATION AND FINANCIAL SERVICES INDUSTRY, COLONIAL FIRST STATE GROUP LIMITED, COLONIAL FIRST STATE GLOBAL ASSET MANAGEMENT, FINANCIAL WISDOM LIMITED, COUNT FINANCIAL LIMITED, AUSSIE HOME LOANS LIMITED, MLC LIMITED, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, IOOF HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX IFL, MITSUBISHI UFJ TRUST AND BANKING INCORPORATION, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC