O75 Public Administration

Carbon accounting trick a no-go for ALP

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Original article by Rosie Lewis
The Australian – Page: 4 : 12-Dec-19

Energy Minister Angus Taylor says the federal government will only use Kyoto carry-over credits to the extent necessary to meet its 2030 carbon emissions reduction targets under the Paris climate agreement. Opposition leader Anthony Albanese has reiterated that Labor will not use the carry-over credits if it wins the next federal election. Meanwhile, a report produced by Climate Analytics on behalf of the Australia Institute has questioned the legality of using carry-over credits.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, CLIMATE ANALYTICS, THE AUSTRALIA INSTITUTE LIMITED

Time for Adani to deliver on jobs

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Original article by Greg Brown
The Australian – Page: 4 : 12-Dec-19

Labor leader Anthony Albanese says Adani’s Carmichael coal mine has been approved, so the company should begin creating the jobs that it has promised. Adani in turn argues that it already employees hundreds of people. Albanese has also used his tour of regional Queensland to call for labour-hire workers in the mining sector to receive the same pay as direct employees, contending that some are paid up to 40 per cent less. He has also criticised the federal government for its lack of action regarding the low wages of labour-hire workers.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, ADANI MINING PTY LTD, BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP, MITSUBISHI CORPORATION

ATO labels 102 companies as systemic non-payers of tax

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Original article by Tom McIlroy
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 8 : 12-Dec-19

Data from the Australian Taxation Offices shows that the combined tax take from the nation’s 2,200 largest corporate taxpayers was $52.3bn in 2017-18. The data shows that 710 companies did not pay any tax during the financial year, while deputy commissioner Rebecca Saint says 102 companies across all sectors of the economy are "systemic non-payers". She notes that tax receipts from oil and gas companies will increase in coming years, after many booked losses during the construction phase of their projects.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence up to 109.0 (corrected)

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 12-Dec-19

ANZ-Roy Morgan Australian Consumer Confidence rose 0.8% to 109.0 in the week ended 8 December – a second straight increase during the early weeks of December. In the run-up to Christmas the good news for retailers is that the ‘time to buy a household item’ index gained 1.9%, building on the previous week’s gain of 5.3% following the Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales. In addition consumers became more confident about their current personal financial situation with a 1% increase from a week ago, although there was a 3.9% drop in regards to future financial conditions over the next 12 months. Consumers have also become more confident about the performance of the Australian economy going forward with an increase of 3.9% for current economic conditions and an increase of 2.7% for future economic conditions, although both indicators remain below long-term averages. The four-week moving average of inflation expectations was down 0.1ppt to 3.9%, as the weekly reading softened to 3.9%.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence up to 108.1

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 11-Dec-19

ANZ-Roy Morgan Australian Consumer Confidence rose 0.8% to 109.0 in the week ended 8 December, continuing the upward momentum of the previous week. Households’ views towards current financial conditions rose 1%, while views towards future financial conditions fell 3.9%. Consumers’ views toward current economic conditions rebounded from a four-year low, rising 3.9%; views towards future economic conditions gained 2.7%, but both remain well below average. The ‘time to buy a household item’ index gained 1.9%, building on the previous week’s gain of 5.3%, although it remains well below its long-run average. The four-week moving average of inflation expectations was down 0.1ppt to 3.9%, as the weekly reading softened to 3.9%.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ

Tourists not warned of risks

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Original article by Rachel Baxendale, Mark Schliebs, Tessa Akerman
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 11-Dec-19

New Zealand police have confirmed the death of a sixth person in the White Island volcano eruption, with fears that the death toll will rise. Three Australians are believed to be among the dead, and Prime Minister Scott Morrison has warned that more casualties are expected, with up to eight Australians still missing. Meanwhile, tour operators are under scrutiny for allowing people to explore the volcano’s crater only weeks after GNS Science upgraded the island’s seismic alert classification to level 2.

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

Slide in wages could risk tax cuts, surplus

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Original article by Matthew Cranston
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 9 : 10-Dec-19

The Wage Price Index growth rate for 2019-20 is forecast to be 2.75 per cent, but wages increased by just 2.2 per cent in the September quarter. Westpac economist Bill Evans expects the federal government to downgrade its wage growth forecast in the mid-year budget update; he warns that this in turn may affect the size of the surplus and the Coalition’s ability to bring forward the second stage of its income tax cuts package. Evans notes that the price of iron ore is trading well above the government’s forecasts, which will help offset any revenue shortfall from slowing wages growth.

CORPORATES
WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, DELOITTE ACCESS ECONOMICS PTY LTD, MORGAN STANLEY AUSTRALIA LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FINANCE

Business Confidence improves, up 2.4pts to 108.4 in November

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 10-Dec-19

In Australia, Business Confidence rose 2.4pts (+2.3%) to 108.4 in November 2019, according to the latest Roy Morgan Business Single Source survey. Driving the first increase since August was improving sentiment about the year ahead. Business Confidence is 5.4pts lower than it was year ago and 7pts below the long-term average of 115.4. Now 50.8% (up 9ppts) of businesses expect the business to be ‘better off’ financially this time next year, while 20.4% (virtually unchanged) expect the business to be ‘worse off’. Meanwhile, 44.8% (up 4.1ppts) of businesses expect the Australian economy to have ‘good times’ economically over the next year, while 50.8% (down 1.6ppts) expect the economy to have ‘bad times’. Some 49.0% (down 1.4ppts) of businesses say the next year will be a ‘good time to invest in growing the business’, while 37.9% (up 2.1ppts) say it will be a ‘bad time to invest’. The Roy Morgan Business Confidence results for November are based on 1,086 detailed interviews with a cross-section of Australian businesses from each State and Territory.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED

Labor MP pushes industry bargaining to fix IR system

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 2 : 10-Dec-19

Labor senator Tim Ayres says Australia’s long period of sustained economic growth has led to complacency with regard to industrial relations. He argues that factors such as low wages growth and the decline in enterprise bargaining means Labor needs to rethink its policy on IR. Ayres adds that Labor should consider the sector-wide bargaining model of Scandinavian countries. Former Labor leader Bill Shorten had flagged a shift to sector-wide bargaining, although employer groups warned that it would lead to the levels of industrial unrest of the 1970s.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, UNITED WORKERS UNION, THE AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY GROUP

Leaders say fiscal stimulus is the answer

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Original article by James Thomson, Tony Boyd
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 27 : 10-Dec-19

Tax cuts and increased spending on infrastructure are among the suggestions from business leaders to help stimulate the Australian economy. Rio Tinto CEO Jean-Sebastien Jacques has urged the federal government to revive its push for corporate tax relief, while Woodside Petroleum CEO Peter Coleman has called for the introduction of an investment allowance to boost business confidence. Meanwhile, Telstra CEO Andy Penn has stressed the importance of innovation to Australia’s future economic growth.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, COCA-COLA AMATIL LIMITED – ASX CCL, BENDIGO AND ADELAIDE BANK LIMITED – ASX BEN, ENERGYAUSTRALIA PTY LTD, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, SEEK LIMITED – ASX SEK, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY