O75 Public Administration

‘You will pay’: unions threaten Labor over trade

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Original article by Ewin Hannan, Rosie Lewis
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 18-Oct-19

Labor has attracted criticism from union leaders after the party’s caucus voted to support the federal government’s proposed free-trade agreements with Indonesia, Hong Kong and Peru. Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining & Energy Union national secretary Michael O’Connor says the decision will cause ongoing tensions between sections of the union movement and Labor. Unions’ concerns about the trade deals include the clauses regarding investor-state dispute settlement clauses and labour market testing provisions.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MARITIME, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, ACTU, ELECTRICAL TRADES UNION

Racing industry punting on renewed interest with The Everest

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 18-Oct-19

New research from Roy Morgan shows that just over 5.2 million Australians aged 14+ (25%) now watch horse racing on TV, a drop of nearly 700,000 since 2015. Almost 5.1 million Australians watch the Melbourne Cup race broadcast, and 98% of Australians who watch any type of horse racing on TV watch the Melbourne Cup. The addition of Australia’s richest turf race, The Everest, to the racing calendar in 2017 has attracted a significant audience (over 750,000), but has yet to reverse the overall decline in TV viewership. Analysis shows that a third of Australians who still watch horse racing on TV are aged 65+, and less than a fifth are under 35. The gender split is fairly even, although men slightly outnumber women. These are the latest findings from the Roy Morgan Single Source survey, derived from in-depth face-to-face interviews with over 50,000 Australians each year in their homes.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED

Rate cuts to go on despite jobless drop

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Original article by Michael Roddan
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 2 : 18-Oct-19

Official data shows that Australia’s unemployment rate fell from 5.3 per cent to 5.2 per cent in September, after the participation rate eased to 66.1 per cent. The economy added 14,700 jobs during the month, with a 26,200-strong increase in full-time jobs being offset by the loss of 11,400 part-time positions. Westpac economist Simon Murray expects the small fall in the jobless rate to be temporary, adding that it will give the Reserve Bank more time to assess the state of the economy before taking any further action on interest rates. The official underemployment rate is currently 8.3 per cent.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT, SKILLS, SMALL AND FAMILY BUSINESS

Building slump to hit whole economy

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Original article by Michael Roddan, Elias Visontay
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 18-Oct-19

The Reserve Bank’s deputy governor Guy Debelle has told an industry conference in Sydney that a forecast slump in dwelling investment could reduce GDP growth by one per cent. The Master Builders Association’s chief economist Shane Garrett has called on the federal government to take steps to bring about an end to the current housing downturn as soon as possible, while ­Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese says Prime Minister Scott Morrison has no plans for stimulating the economy.

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, MASTER BUILDERS’ ASSOCIATION, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

Labor to support Indonesia, Peru and Hong Kong free trade deals

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 5 : 17-Oct-19

Labor’s caucus will shortly decide whether to support the federal government’s proposed free trade agreements with Indonesia, Hong Kong and Peru. Sources have indicated that Labor is unlikely to oppose the legislation, although it may seek a number of amendments. The ACTU will lobby Labor MPs to oppose the bill, due to concerns about issues such as the trade deals’ investor-state dispute settlement clauses and labour market testing provisions.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, ACTU, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND TRADE

CEOs say big stick unlikely to be deployed

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Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith, Robert Guy
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 5 : 17-Oct-19

Alinta CEO Jeff Dimery says the federal government’s legislation to force energy companies to divest assets will probably never be triggered. Dimery argues that conditions in the energy market would have to be dire for the ‘big stick’ legislation to be used. Origin Energy CEO Frank Calabria has in turn questioned whether the legislation will increase energy affordability and reliability, while Energy Security Board chair Kerry Schott has doubts about the effectiveness of the government’s Underwriting New Generation scheme.

CORPORATES
ALINTA ENERGY (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, ORIGIN ENERGY LIMITED – ASX ORG, AUSTRALIA. ENERGY SECURITY BOARD

Regrets, GetUp has a few, over hard-right assault

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Original article by Greg Brown
The Australian – Page: 6 : 17-Oct-19

GetUp’s national director Paul Oosting has told the National Press Club that he is proud of the activist group’s campaign during the 18 May federal election. However, he concedes that GetUp erred in targeting conservative MPs in traditionally safe seats, with five of the six seats that it focused on having been retained by the Coalition. Oosting says GetUp choose this strategy as it had expected Labor to win the election.

CORPORATES
GETUP LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIAN ELECTORAL COMMISSION, AUSTRALIAN GREENS

PM to keep his cool on economy

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Original article by Rosie Lewis, Simon Benson, Richard Gluyas
The Australian – Page: 1 & 6 : 17-Oct-19

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has downplayed concerns about the outlook for the Australian economy, arguing that good economic and financial management is needed in times of uncertainty. Labor leader Anthony ­Albanese has responded to the International Monetary Fund’s latest downgrade of its economic growth forecast for Australia by calling for a stimulus package. Former federal treasurer Peter Costello has in turn urged supply-side reforms, arguing that fiscal and monetary policy have reached the limits of their effectiveness.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIA. FUTURE FUND MANAGEMENT AGENCY, THE AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY GROUP, AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY, AUSTRALIAN RETAILERS ASSOCIATION

Young losing trust in democracy is a threat to society

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Original article by Joe Kelly
The Australian – Page: 2 : 16-Oct-19

The University of Western Australia has used its submission to a Senate inquiry to highlight the declining trust in democracy, particularly among younger Australians. The UWA submission has also called for greater emphasis on civics and citizenship in the national curriculum. In addition, the UWA has advocated allowing dual citizens to be elected to parliament by repealing section 44(i) of the Constitution.

CORPORATES
UNIVERSITY OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA, MONASH UNIVERSITY

Surplus safe with fast-track tax cuts

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Original article by Adam Creighton
The Australian – Page: 6 : 16-Oct-19

The Centre for Independent Studies has released a report which warns that the federal government’s changes to the low- to medium-income tax offset will decrease­ GDP and the economic efficiency of the tax system. The report’s author, John Humphreys, estimates that the LMITO will reduce revenue by $35bn over the next four years, as it provides a disincentive to work. He adds that the second and third stages of the government’s tax cuts package will reduce revenue by $145bn over 10 years, and argues that the tax cuts can be brought forward without jeopardising Budget surpluses.

CORPORATES
THE CENTRE FOR INDEPENDENT STUDIES LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY