O75 Public Administration

Liberals hose down talk of Abbott tilt

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Original article by Dennis Shanahan
The Australian – Page: 4 : 20-Jan-23

The Liberal Party’s state council will select someone to fill an upper house vacancy following the death of NSW senator Jim Molan. NSW Liberals are downplaying the prospect that former prime minister Tony Abbott could return to parliament via Molan’s seat. There is also the potential for a factional battle to fill the vacancy; Dallas Mc­Inerney is seen as the leading contender from the Liberals’ conservative faction, although there is speculation that the moderate faction will seek to fill the seat.

CORPORATES
LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, LIBERAL PARTY OF NEW SOUTH WALES

ABS unemployment follows Roy Morgan’s unemployment data showing job losses in December

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 20-Jan-23

The latest ABS unemployment data released yesterday showed employment down by 14,600 in December, in line with the already released Roy Morgan employment data which showed employment down by 12,000. The ABS data also showed a rise of 0.1% points in the unemployment rate in line with the increase in Roy Morgan’s unemployment rate, up 0.3% points in December – although ABS unemployment at 3.5% is less than half that of Roy Morgan (9.3%). The ABS employment data was collected at the start of December and may be the first inkling of a weakening economy. The decline in jobs in December shows why it is so important for the Albanese Government to get their industrial relations policies right – including dealing with the cash economy. Younger people are heavily represented in the cash economy, which is widespread in the retail and hospitality industries, and also for those employed for domestic duties and in childcare. View the latest Roy Morgan employment data to learn more.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS

Labor aims at $5m super stockpiles

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Original article by Michael Read
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 19-Jan-23

Assistant Treasurer Stephen Jones says the federal government will legislate an objective for superannuation. However, Labor’s legislated purpose for super will be narrower than the industry would prefer; super funds want it to include concepts such as ‘comfort in retirement’ and ‘preservation’, which critics argue would enshrine tax breaks and prevent people from making withdrawals to buy a home. Labor may also take action to cap super balances at $2m. It is estimated that tax concessions for people with super balances of more than $5m costs the budget about $1.5bn a year.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY

Dozens more cases expose CFMEU to maximum fines

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 5 : 19-Jan-23

Court records show that the Fair Work Ombudsman is currently handling 35 open cases involving the Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining & Energy Union. This includes five appeals launched by the CFMEU and one appeal that was instigated by the defunct Australian Building & Construction Commission. The ABCC’s case load was transferred to the FWO after the building industry watchdog was abolished in late 2022. Steven Amendola of law firm Kingston Reid says the CFMEU could potentially face total fines in excess of $5m if judges impose maximum or near-maximum penalties in each case.

CORPORATES
CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MARITIME, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK OMBUDSMAN, AUSTRALIAN BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION COMMISSION, KINGSTON REID

Australia to consider European-style right to be forgotten privacy laws

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Original article by Paul Karp
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 19-Jan-23

Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus says the federal government will pursue a major overhaul of the Privacy Act. He had stated in late 2022 that the legislation is not "fit-for-purpose" in the digital due to inaction by the former Coalition government. Amongst other things, potential reforms could include introducing a statutory tort of privacy, which would give people the right to seek damages for breaches of their privacy. The so-called ‘right to be forgotten’ could also be on Labor’s agenda; this would allow people to request companies to erase their personal data if it is no longer necessary for the purpose for which it was collected.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT

Coalminers told to keep the lights on

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Original article by Perry Williams, Nick Evans
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 19-Jan-23

The NSW government will require the majority of mining companies to reserve up to 10 per cent of their thermal coal output in the state for the domestic market. The domestic coal reservation policy is expected to be implemented by the end of January. The government had previously only required some thermal coal miners to reserve part of their output for the state’s power stations, but this prompted complaints that it placed an unfair burden on a small number of ­producers. Coal-fired power stations generate about 60 per cent of the state’s electricity supply.

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Albanese keeps door open to legislating Voice if the referendum fails

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Original article by Lisa Visentin
Brisbane Times – Page: Online : 19-Jan-23

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is confident that the referendum on an Indigenous Voice to parliament will be passed. Albanese has stated that he is "not contemplating failure", although he has refused to rule out the option of legislating the Voice if the ‘No’ vote prevails. He has merely stated that there will be no constitutional change if the Voice referendum is rejected by voters. Meanwhile, Opposition leader Peter Dutton has again urged Labor to legislate the Voice before seeking to enshrine it in the Constitution.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

Lib’s Senate push for Abbott

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Original article by Dennis Shanahan
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 19-Jan-23

Liberal Party powerbroker Michael Kroger has suggested that former prime minister Tony Abbott should replace the late Jim Molan in the Senate. Kroger says he believes there is "no better candidate" than Abbott to fill the upper house vacancy, arguing that his experience in opposition would help the Coalition. However, Kroger emphasises any decision as to who will replace Molan for the remaining five years of his eight-year term is entirely up to the Liberals’ NSW division. Abbott lost the seat of Warringah at the 2019 election.

CORPORATES
LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, LIBERAL PARTY OF NEW SOUTH WALES

Australian unemployment increased to 9.3% in December in line with the usual seasonal trends for this time of the year

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 19-Jan-23

The latest Roy Morgan employment series data shows that 1.38 million Australians (9.3% of the workforce) were unemployed in December, up 46,000 from November. The increase in unemployment was in line with the usual seasonal trends seen at this time of the year as school leavers and university students joined the workforce. The number of Australians looking for full-time work rose 89,000 to 595,000 in December, while the number of people looking for part-time work fell 43,000 to 789,000. Some 1.36 million Australians (9.1% of the workforce) were under-employed – working part-time but looking for more work – down 16,000 from November. In total, 2.74 million Australians (19.4% of the workforce) were either unemployed or under-employed in December, up 30,000 on November. Meanwhile, employment decreased by 12,000 to 13,568,000 in December. This was driven by a drop in full-time employment (down 97,000 to 8,771,000), although part-time employment increased in line with the usual seasonal trends (up by 85,000 to 4,797,000). Roy Morgan’s under-employment figure of 9.1% is over 3% points higher than the ABS estimate of 5.8% for November.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS

China’s drop in births a global threat

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Original article by Michael Smith, Ronald Mizen
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 11 : 18-Jan-23

University of Wisconsin-Madison demographer Yi Fuxian says China’s declining birth rate will have long-term implications for the global economy. The Chinese government has advised that the nation’s population fell by 850,000 in calendar 2022, to 1.412 billion. The number of deaths exceeded births for the first time in six decades, with factors such as the rising cost of living and COVID-19 restrictions deterring many couples from having more than one child. The demographic shift in China will have a limited impact on the nation’s economy in the short-term; however, demographers warn that China is likely to face labour shortages in 20-30 years’ time, which will affect the global supply of manufactured goods.

CORPORATES
UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON