O75 Public Administration

Labor draws link to press freedom fight

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Original article by Andrew Tillett
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 23-Oct-19

The issue of press freedom continued to attract scrutiny in federal parliament on 22 October, with Prime Minister Scott Morrison stating that people should only be prosecuted if they have broken the law. It followed his previous statement that journalists should not be prosecuted on the whim of a politician. Meanwhile, Labor leader Anthony Albanese has sought to link the government’s refusal to answer questions about Senate estimates hearings to the media industry’s Right to Know campaign.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, RIGHT TO KNOW COALITION, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence recovering to 111.6

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

ANZ-Roy Morgan Australian Consumer Confidence rose 0.6% to 111.6 in the week ended 20 October, after the previous week’s 1.2% drop. Households’ views towards current financial conditions fell 2.4%, and this component is now down nearly 10% from its August high; views towards future financial conditions gained 0.4%, taking this subindex back above its long-term average. Consumers’ views toward current economic conditions gained 0.3%, and views towards future economic conditions declined by 1.1%; both subindices are below their long-term average. The ‘time to buy a major household item’ gained 5.1%, and inflation expectations remained stable at 4.1%.

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

Federal super blowout at $50bn

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Original article by Geoff Chambers
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 22-Oct-19

The Department of Finance has released data showing that the federal government’s unfunded superannuation liability topped $233.1bn at the end of 2018-19, compared with $183.1bn at the start of the financial year. Meanwhile, the Future Fund’s assets rose to $165.7bn in the year to September. The Future Fund Act allows the government to begin withdrawing money from the sovereign wealth fund in 2020 to meet unfunded super liabilities, although the Coalition has renewed a 2017 commitment to not do so.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FINANCE, AUSTRALIA. FUTURE FUND MANAGEMENT AGENCY, AUSTRALIA. OFFICE OF THE AUDITOR-GENERAL

Labor waves through FTAs

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 8 : 22-Oct-19

ACTU president Michele O’Neil has criticised Labor’s decision to support legislation to establish free trade agreements with Indonesia, Hong Kong and Peru. She says the trade deals breach Labor’s national policy platform. Unions’ concerns about the trade deals include the clauses regarding investor-state dispute settlement and labour market testing. The legislation was passed by the lower house on 21 October after the federal government agreed to a number of concessions. It is expected to be passed by the Senate in November.

CORPORATES
ACTU, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Big projects to get strike protection

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 22-Oct-19

Industrial Relations Minister Christian Porter has urged Labor to support legislation to allow workplace agreements to apply for the entire construction phase of greenfields projects. The move is aimed at preventing unions and workers from disrupting a resources, energy or infrastructure project by seeking improved wages and conditions if an enterprise agreement expires in the middle of the construction phase. The Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining & Energy Union’s Dave Noonan contends that it is unfair to lock in terms and conditions that could last for 5-10 years.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT, SKILLS, SMALL AND FAMILY BUSINESS, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MARITIME, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, MINERALS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, THE AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY GROUP, CHEVRON CORPORATION, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

Australians don’t want the new ACT cannabis law overturned

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 22-Oct-19

A special Roy Morgan online survey shows that 62% of Australians do not want the Federal Government to overturn the new ACT law decriminalising cannabis for personal use, which is set to come into effect in 2020. Just 27% say they do want the Federal Government to step in, while 11% can’t say either way. Clear majorities of all age groups are against the Federal Government stepping in and overturning the law, led by 66% of 35-49 year olds and 63% of 14-24 year olds. The smallest majority is in the 65+ age group, but even here 58% do not want the law overturned. These are the latest findings from a special Roy Morgan online survey conducted with a representative cross-section of 1,054 Australians aged 14+ in mid-October.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED

$65 million and counting, Clive Palmer labels Labor as sore losers on election spend

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Original article by Samantha Maiden
The New Daily – Page: Online : 21-Oct-19

It is expected that businessman Clive Palmer’s advertising expenditure on the last federal election will be somewhere around $65 million to $70 million when he lodges his final expenditure statement with the Australian Electoral Commission. Labor has apparently blamed Palmer’s extensive advertising as one of the factors behind its defeat, but Palmer has rejected its calls for a cap on advertising expenditure. He says Labor was happy for him to spend as much as he liked when it appeared that he would be giving them his preferences.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN ELECTORAL COMMISSION, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Review: Labor base rejected handouts

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 6 : 21-Oct-19

Labor’s review into its surprise 18 May federal election loss is due to be presented to its National Executive on 5 November. It is expected to conclude that a number of factors led to the defeat, including a poor election campaign and the unpopularity of then-leader Bill Shorten. The review is also expected to find that voters who were meant to benefit from Labor’s so-called ‘tax and spend’ agenda deserted it, while those who were targeted by it stuck with Labor.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

IMF vows to do whatever it takes

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Original article by David Rogers
The Australian – Page: 17 & 18 : 21-Oct-19

The International Monetary Fund expects the global economy to grow by 3.4 per cent in 2020, after recently scaling back its 2019 growth forecast to three per cent. The IMF’s International Monetary & Financial Committee concluded its annual meeting in Washington on 20 October; it released a communique in which it committed to using all appropriate policy tools to bolster global growth. The communique also acknowledged the need to resolve trade tensions.

CORPORATES
INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND. INTERNATIONAL MONETARY AND FINANCIAL COMMITTEE, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, UNITED STATES. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, BANK OF ENGLAND, WORLD BANK, EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK, UNITED STATES. EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT

ATO seeks to bankrupt Huang Xiangmo

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Original article by Neil Chenoweth
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 18-Oct-19

The Australian Taxation Office is seeking to have Chinese billionaire Huang Xiangmo declared bankrupt. Huang, who is at the centre of a New South Wales corruption investigation into political donations, is said to owe the ATO some $140.9m in tax; it will seek to take legal action in Hong Kong as part of its efforts to recover the money. Huang’s Australian residence visa was cancelled in December, and his lawyers claim that he cannot be the subject of a bankruptcy order as the ATO would need to show that he is "personally present or ordinarily present in Australia".

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA