O75 Public Administration

Free votes and fixed terms top reform list

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Original article by Joe Kelly
The Australian – Page: 4 : 12-Nov-19

A paper containing 15 proposals for reform to Australia’s system of government has been submitted to a parliamentary inquiry into nationhood, national identity and democracy. The proposals, which have been compiled by the newDemocracy Foundation, the ­Melbourne School of Government, and the Susan McKinnon Foundation, include fixed parliamentary terms, an increase in the number of ‘free’ votes, and an independent speaker. Former Victorian Labor premier John Brumby and former LNP Queensland premier Campbell Newman are among those to have endorsed the reform proposals.

CORPORATES
THE NEWDEMOCRACY FOUNDATION, MELBOURNE SCHOOL OF GOVERNMENT, SUSAN MCKINNON FOUNDATION, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, LIBERAL-NATIONAL PARTY OF QUEENSLAND

Co-author of ALP’s tax policy slammed

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Original article by Geoff Chambers
The Australian – Page: 4 : 12-Nov-19

Federal Opposition leader Anthony Albanese and opposition Treasury spokesman Jim Chalmers have sought to omit the use of the phrase ‘the top end of town’ following Labor’s defeat in the May election. However, Assistant Treasurer Michael Sukkar notes Chalmers has used the phrase over 300 times since 2013. Sukkar has also accused Chalmers of allowing Bill Shorten and Chris Bowen to take all of the blame for Labor’s tax policies, saying he should admit to playing his part in putting the policies together.

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AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY

Federal Election bounce over – Business Confidence drops to lowest since April

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

In Australia, Business Confidence fell 4.6pts (-4.2%) to 106.0 in October 2019, according to the latest Roy Morgan Business Single Source survey. Business Confidence is now at its lowest level since the Federal Election in mid-May; it is also 7.1pts lower than a year ago and 9.5pts below the long-term average of 115.5. Now 41.8% (down 9.9ppts) of businesses expect the business to be ‘better off’ financially this time next year, while 20.3% (up 2.1ppts) expect the business to be ‘worse off’. Meanwhile, 40.7% (down 5.8ppts) of businesses expect the Australian economy to have ‘good times’ economically over the next year, while 52.4% (up 4.2ppts) expect the economy to have ‘bad times’. Some 50.4% (down 2.1ppts) of businesses say the next year will be a ‘good time to invest in growing the business’, while only 35.8% (down 2.8ppts) say it will be a ‘bad time to invest’. Roy Morgan Business Confidence results in October are based on 1,104 interviews with a cross-section of Australian businesses.

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ROY MORGAN LIMITED

Greens playing with fire

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Original article by Greg Brown, Andrew Clennell, Craig Johnstone, Olivia Caisley, Ean Higgins
The Australian – Page: 1 & 6 : 12-Nov-19

Greens leader Richard Di Natale has attracted criticism for attempting to link the bushfires in New South Wales and Queensland to the major political parties’ climate change polices. National Party leader Michael McCormack has labelled the comments as disgraceful and disgusting, while shadow agriculture minister Joel Fitzgibbon has accused the Greens of hypocrisy given that they opposed Labor’s carbon pollution reduction scheme. Meanwhile, NSW Deputy Premier John Barilaro says the state’s National Parks Service should have undertaken more backburning before the bushfire season commenced.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN GREENS, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, NEW SOUTH WALES. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET, NEW SOUTH WALES. NATIONAL PARKS AND WILDLIFE SERVICE, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, UNIVERSITY OF WOLLONGONG, NEW SOUTH WALES RURAL FIRE SERVICE, SHINE ENERGY

Hundreds of schools to be shut down across Sydney, Wollongong and Newcastle as New South Wales faces catastrophic bushfire risk

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Original article by
abc.net au – Page: Online : 12-Nov-19

New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian has declared a seven-day state of emergency as many parts of the state face ‘catastrophic’ bushfire conditions on 12 November. Around 600 schools across the state will be closed, along with childcare centres in high-risk areas. The NSW Rural Fire Service states that live embers could travel up to 30 kilometres from fire fronts, while it has warned people that it might not have enough time to warn them about some fires. Transport for NSW is warning people to avoid non-essential travel on roads and public transport.

CORPORATES
NEW SOUTH WALES. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET, TRANSPORT FOR NSW, NEW SOUTH WALES RURAL FIRE SERVICE

New mega union swings Labor to left

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 8 : 11-Nov-19

The new United Workers Union will boast more than 150,000 members and a potential membership base of two million. The merger of United Voice and the National Union of Workers will be formally completed on 11 November. The new union will be aligned with Labor’s Left faction, whereas the NUW was aligned with the Right. The new union will have a national body rather than autonomous state branches.

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UNITED WORKERS UNION, UNITED VOICE, NATIONAL UNION OF WORKERS, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Morrison close on scrapping medivac

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Original article by Rosie Lewis
The Australian – Page: 5 : 11-Nov-19

Centre Alliance senator Rex Patrick says his party is close to reaching agreement with the federal government on its Ensuring Integrity Bill. Attorney-General Christian Porter has agreed to several concessions to secure Centre Alliance’s support for the bill, including a demerit-points system for union officials who breach workplace laws. The government is also hopeful of gaining sufficient numbers in the Senate to repeal Labor’s medivac bill.

CORPORATES
CENTRE ALLIANCE, AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF HOME AFFAIRS, LAW COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA

Cancer of complacency puts economy at risk, says Chalmers

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Original article by Andrew Tillett
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 11-Nov-19

Shadow treasurer Jim Chalmers will use a speech on 11 November to tell Labor think-tank the John Curtin Research Centre that the Australian economy is "running on fumes". Chalmers will accuse the federal government of a "cancer of complacency" when it comes to economic management, while he will state that he has identified four key elements required for an economic strategy as a result of consultations with business. These include the introduction of an investment allowance and a ‘responsible’ increase in unemployment benefits.

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AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, JOHN CURTIN RESEARCH CENTRE

Andrews bans native growth logging

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Original article by Tessa Akerman
The Australian – Page: 2 : 8-Nov-19

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews announced on 7 November that old growth logging has now been banned, and that native timber harvests will end in 2030. He said that paper processor Australian Paper would move to full plantation-based supply, while the Victorian government will allocate $120 million over 10 years to help the native timber industry transition from native trees to plantation logs. However, Victorian Nationals leader Peter Walsh claims whole communities will be destroyed as a result of Andrews’ actions, while Victorian Association of Forest Industries chief Tim Johnston claimed the government had given into pressure from vocal environmental groups.

CORPORATES
VICTORIA. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, VICTORIAN ASSOCIATION OF FOREST INDUSTRIES

Pay falls as non-union agreements rise

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 8 : 8-Nov-19

Wage increases in new private sector agreements fell from 2.9 per cent to 2.8 per cent in the June quarter, according to data from the Attorney-General’s Department, while public sector agreement pay rises grew from 2.4 per cent to 2.6 per cent. The number of non-union agreements increased by 60 per cent between the March and June quarters, and Centre for Future Work economist Alison Pennington says it is possible that non-union agreements could rise as a proportion of all approved agreements from 22 per cent to 27 per cent by the end of 2019.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT, THE AUSTRALIA INSTITUTE LIMITED. CENTRE FOR FUTURE WORK