O75 Public Administration

China coal ban an FTA breach

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Original article by Geoff Chambers
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 16-Dec-20

Prime Minister Scott Morrison says the federal government has received no "official information" from China about restrictions on coal imports from Australia. He says that any such move would be in breach of both the free-trade agreement between the two nations and World Trade Organization rules. China’s state-owned media has reported that Australian thermal coal will be blacklisted in favour of coal from countries such as Indonesia, Russia and Mongolia. Morrison contends that a ban on higher-quality Australian coal would increase China’s carbon emissions. He has also emphasised that Japan and India are bigger markets for Australian thermal and coking coal respectively than China.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

Iron ore fear tax helps to boost budget

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Original article by Ronald Mizen
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 8 : 14-Dec-20

The federal government’s Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook will reflect the surge in the price of iron ore since it handed down the Budget just two months ago. Its forecasts were based on an iron ore price of just $US55 per tonne free-on-board; the steel input is currently fetching around $US152 per tonne free-on-board, and the spot price has reached a seven-year high. Meanwhile, Deloitte Access Economics now expects 2020-21 GDP to be $33bn higher than had been forecast in the Budget, while the firm says the underlying cash deficit could be up to $3bn better than had been expected in October.

CORPORATES
DELOITTE ACCESS ECONOMICS PTY LTD

Workers in private sector turn their backs on unions

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Original article by Ewin Hannan, Stephen Lunn
The Weekend Australian – Page: 2 : 12-Dec-20

Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows that just 9.2 per cent of workers in the private sector are now members of unions, down from 12.1 per cent in 2014. In percentage terms, union membership in the public sector has fallen from 39.6 per cent to 36.8 per cent in the last six years; however, the number of union members has actually risen from 570,00 to 710,000 over this period. The ABS figures also show that casual workers were the hardest hit during the downturn in the labour market in the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS

Smelter offered millions to stay put

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Original article by Nick Evans
The Australian – Page: 2 : 14-Dec-20

Alcoa’s aluminium smelter at Portland in Victoria will receive $76.8m from the Australian Energy Market Operator for load-shedding during periods of peak demand for electricity. The payments from AEMO’s Reliability & Emergency Reserve Trade scheme will be guaranteed by the federal government. Energy Minister Angus Taylor stresses that the payments do not constitute a subsidy; instead, they will compensate Alcoa for its role in stabilising the electricity grid. The deal will in itself not ensure the future of the smelter, which remains under pressure due to high energy costs.

CORPORATES
ALCOA INCORPORATED, ALCOA OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN ENERGY MARKET OPERATOR LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INDUSTRY, SCIENCE, ENERGY AND RESOURCES

Job ads targeting migrants overwhelmingly offering below the minimum wage

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Original article by Isobel Roe
abc.net au – Page: Online : 14-Dec-20

Unions New South Wales looked at 3,000 job advertisements in foreign languages and aimed at migrant workers and found that 88 per cent were offering below award rates. The rate of job ads offering illegal pay rates has risen over 14 per cent since the start of the pandemic, while Unions NSW’s latest survey found that the construction and cleaning sectors were the worst offenders in terms of paying below the minimum wage. Migrant workers are reluctant to pursue complaints over poor wage rates for fear it could put their visa status at risk.

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UNIONS NSW

Refinery rescue deal to safeguard fuel stocks

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Original article by Ben Packham
The Australian – Page: 5 : 14-Dec-20

The federal government is set to announce a rescue package for the Lytton, Geelong and Altona oil refineries to ensure that they remain operational until mid-2021. The refineries will receive a payment of at least $0.01 per litre for their petrol, diesel and jet fuel production over the six months from 1 January. Energy Minister Angus Taylor says the government is finalising a long-term market mechanism for the production payment, which is slated to take effect from 1 July. The future of Australia’s three remaining refineries has come under scrutiny following BP’s recent decision to close its Kwinana plant.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INDUSTRY, SCIENCE, ENERGY AND RESOURCES, AMPOL LIMITED – ALD, EXXONMOBIL AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, VIVA ENERGY GROUP LIMITED – ASX VEA, BP AUSTRALIA LIMITED

NSW to consider testing international travellers before they board for Sydney

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Original article by Amelia McGuire
The Age – Page: Online : 14-Dec-20

New South Wales has reported no new locally-acquired COVID-19 cases for 11 consecutive days, but the number of cases among returned travellers has risen to 34. NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard has indicated that the state government is looking at the viability of requiring airlines to test passengers and flight crews for the coronavirus before they board a plane to Australia. Meanwhile, six returned travellers in hotel quarantine in Victoria have tested positive for COVID-19, and an additional 24 have symptoms of the virus.

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NEW SOUTH WALES. MINISTRY OF HEALTH

Canavan calls for retaliatory levy on iron ore to China

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Original article by Ben Packham
The Australian – Page: 6 : 14-Dec-20

Former resources minister Matt Canavan contends that the federal government should respond to China’s import bans and punitive tariffs by imposing a levy on iron ore exports. Australia ships nearly 900 million tonnes of iron ore to China each year, and Canavan argues that a levy of just one per cent would raise more than $800m annually; this could be used to compensate companies that have been hit by China’s trade sanctions. Canavan notes that iron ore has not been affected by the trade war, as China cannot quickly and easily source an alternative supply.

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Chinese Communist Party insiders infiltrate Western consulates

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Original article by Sharri Markson
The Australian – Page: 1 & 7 : 14-Dec-20

Members of the Chinese Communist Party are working in at least 10 foreign consulates in Shanghai, including those of Australia, the US and the UK. This follows the examination of a leaked copy of CCP membership records, which has also found that CCP members are working in companies such as Boeing and AstraZeneca, as well as Western universities. Australia hires local staff for its Shanghai consulate through the Shanghai Foreign Agency Service Department, which is a Chinese government agency, and the leaked database indicates that it has at least 12 active CCP branches

CORPORATES
COMMUNIST PARTY (CHINA), BOEING COMPANY, ASTRAZENECA PLC

China not playing by trade pact rules

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Original article by Ben Packham, Will Glasgow
The Australian – Page: 4 : 9-Dec-20

Trade Minister Simon Birmingham says the federal government is considering "all dispute settlement options" in response to China’s recent move to ban a range of imports from Australia. He has also suggested that the targeted nature of the import bans raises questions about China’s adherence to the free-trade agreement that the two nations signed in 2015. China has yet to explain why it has banned meat exports from Queensland-based abattoir Meramist, although there is speculation that it is in retaliation to the federal government’s Foreign Relations Bill.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND TRADE, MERAMIST PTY LTD