O75 Public Administration

Firms war-game the new IR rules

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Original article by Hannah Wootton
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 6 : 29-Nov-22

Perth-based conglomerate Wesfarmers has indicated that it will continue to use enterprise agreements rather than shifting to multi-employer bargaining. CFO Anthony Gianotti says Wesfarmers believes that traditional enterprise agreements are the best way of driving real wage growth. Ramsay Health Care’s CFO Martyn Roberts in turn says that negotiating pay rises across rival companies in the same sector may be "quite challenging". Gianotti adds that the Secure Jobs, Better Pay reforms have not gone far enough in simplifying the industry awards system.

CORPORATES
WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES, RAMSAY HEALTH CARE LIMITED – ASX RHC

Greens threaten to support Liberal amendment in move that could derail passage of key integrity bill

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Original article by Paul Karp
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 29-Nov-22

The federal government is still aiming to pass legislation for its National Anti-Corruption Commission before parliament rises for the year. However, it has received a setback after the Liberal Party proposed an amendment which would require the appointments of the NACC commissioner and inspector to be approved by at least three-quarters of the joint parliamentary oversight committee’s members. The Greens have indicated that they may be open to supporting this amendment unless the government agrees to allow the NACC’s parliamentary oversight committee to be chaired by a non-government MP.

CORPORATES
LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN GREENS

Morrison will be censured by parliament – but not by the Coalition

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 10 : 29-Nov-22

Federal cabinet has agreed to censure former prime minister Scott Morrison over revelations that he secretly took on five ministerial portfolios. The censure motion is expected to be debated in parliament on Tuesday, although the Coalition will oppose the motion. The Opposition’s manager of business Paul Fletcher has described the censure motion as a "political stunt", arguing that such motions are meant to hold ministers to account rather than being used as a "political payback exercise". Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says the actions of his immediate predecessor were extraordinary, unprecedented and wrong.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

Public hearing test strikes right balance

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Original article by Rosie Lewis
The Australian – Page: 4 : 24-Nov-22

The Greens have confirmed that they will support legislation to establish the National Anti-Corruption Commission. However, Greens MP Max Chandler-Mather and other crossbenchers have urged the federal government to lower the threshold for public hearings of the NACC. As it stands, the NACC bill requires hearings to be held in private unless there are "exceptional circumstances". Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has defended the exceptional circumstances test, arguing that it strikes a balance between the benefits of public hearings and the potential negative impacts.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN GREENS, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

Burke flags more IR exemptions

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 24-Nov-22

Workplace Relations Minister Tony Burke says 97.5 per cent of businesses will now be exempt from the Secure Jobs, Better Pay Bill’s single-interest multi-employer bargaining stream. This follows the federal government’s decision to increase the employee threshold for small businesses from 15 to 20, in line with a Senate committee’s recommendation. However, the Opposition has called for the threshold to be increased to 200, while business groups want it to be set at 100 employees. The government’s compromise means that an additional 500,000 businesses will be exempt from multi-employer bargaining. The government is still in negotiations with independent senator David Pocock.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT AND WORKPLACE RELATIONS

Multi-employer bargaining pays off for workers and businesses

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Original article by Chris F Wright
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 39 : 24-Nov-22

The multi-employer bargaining provisions of the Secure Jobs, Better Pay Bill have been widely criticised by employers’ groups. However, even these groups agree that the current enterprise bargaining system is broken, but they have not put forward an alternative to multi-employer bargaining. The Fair Work Act placed collective bargaining at the enterprise level at the heart of the workplace relations system, but the current laws make it too easy for businesses to opt out of enterprise bargaining while it has become too hard for workers to negotiate new agreements. The rest of the world is moving towards multi-employer bargaining, as it benefits businesses as well as workers. Australia should embrace this once-in-a-generation opportunity to do so as well.

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Andrews slugged by voters

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Original article by Michael Warner
Herald Sun – Page: 7 : 24-Nov-22

Ian Cook is among a large field of Victorian election candidates who are contesting the seat of Mulgrave, which has been held by Premier Daniel Andrews since 2002. Independent exit polling at Mulgrave’s only early voting booth suggests that there could be a shock swing against Andrews. Cook’s campaign manager Emily Coltraine says with that preferences factored in, the exit polls show that Cook has 57.2 per cent of the vote compared with 42.8 per cent for Andrews; however, the exit polls comprise a sample of just 159 voters. Coltraine says many electors are telling Cook that they support Labor but will not vote for Andrews. Cook’s catering business was forced to shut down after a local council health inspector allegedly found a slug on the premises.

CORPORATES
VICTORIA. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET

ALP fears for 10 seats amid late challenges as Victorian polling day nears

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Original article by John Ferguson, Angelica Snowden
The Australian – Page: 6 : 24-Nov-22

Labor strategists believe that the party could potentially lose 8-10 seats at the Victorian election on Saturday, and these seats are likely to be targeted by both major political parties in the final days of the election campaign. The loss of so many seats could reduce Labor to a minority government, as some of these seats are likely to fall to Greens and independent candidates rather than the Coalition. Meanwhile, the state government’s Suburban Rail Loop dominated the election on Wednesday, with the Opposition pushing Premier Daniel Andrews to release costings for the project.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, LIBERAL PARTY OF VICTORIA

ALP Government of Daniel Andrews set to win with a reduced majority as support for L-NP grows – but will the trend continue?

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 24-Nov-22

A special Roy Morgan Snap SMS Poll shows that the Victorian ALP on 55% (down 2% points since early November) has an election-winning lead over the L-NP Coalition on 45% (up 2% points) on a two-party preferred basis. The Poll shows a swing of 2.3% points away from the ALP since the 2018 Victorian Election in which the ALP on 57.3% defeated the L-NP on 42.7% (a near record margin of 14.6% points). Primary vote support for the two major parties shows the ALP now at 38% (down 4.9% points from the 2018 Election) ahead of the L-NP on 32.5% (down 2.7% points). Support for the Greens is at 12.5% (up 1.8% points) while total support for ‘Other parties and independents’ is now at 17% (up 5.8% points). There are many seats on tight margins that will be closely contested at the election. If the Roy Morgan Poll result of a uniform swing of 2.3% points away from the ALP to the Liberal-National coalition is the outcome this would lead to five or six seats being lost to the Liberal Party. However, even if the Liberal Party does pick up five or six seats from the ALP Government they may lose three or four seats to a ‘Teal Independent’ candidate elsewhere. This special Roy Morgan Snap SMS Poll was conducted with a Victoria-wide cross-section of 1,195 Victorian electors aged 18+ conducted from Tuesday November 22 to Wednesday November 23.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, MORGAN POLL, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, LIBERAL PARTY OF VICTORIA, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN GREENS

Victorians get poorer under Labor

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Original article by John Kehoe
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 10 : 23-Nov-22

Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows that Victoria’s gross household disposable income per person was $52,488 in 2021-22, which is the second-lowest among the states and territories. Victoria’s gross household disposable income per person had been ranked fourth in 1999, and reached the third-highest in the early 2000s. Former federal Treasury economist Stephen Anthony says the state government has overseen a "pyramid scheme" built on high debt; he says it is very clear that Premier Daniel Andrews has destroyed living standards and been "fiscally profligate". Victoria’s net debt is forecast to rise to $166bn in 2025-26, which equates to 24.6 per cent of the state’s economy

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS, VICTORIA. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET