O75 Public Administration

Wesfarmers underpaid staff

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 19 : 2-Oct-19

Perth-based conglomerate Wesfarmers has attributed its latest wage underpayment scandal to a payroll error. A preliminary estimate suggests that the staff were underpaid about $15m in total, although the final figure could potentially be much higher. The error was detected during testing of a new payroll system, which found that some 2,000 current and 4,000 former employees of its industrial and safety division had been underpaid for nine years. Wesfarmers’ Bunnings hardware chain recently admitted to underpaying the superannuation entitlements of some part-time employees.

CORPORATES
WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES, BUNNINGS GROUP LIMITED, BLACKWOODS, WORKWEAR GROUP, COREGAS, GREENCAP LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK OMBUDSMAN, ACTU, AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT

Uni funding: job success gets more weight

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Original article by Robert Bolton
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 2-Oct-19

Education Minister Dan Tehan has advised that the federal government will give more weighting to graduate employment outcomes when allocating additional money to the nation’s universities under a new performance-based funding model. The increased focus on ensuring that university graduates are equipped with the skills to obtain employment quickly follows the government’s move to provide an extra $80m in performance-based funding in 2020. Meanwhile, the Australian Learning Lecture Project has questions the relevance of ATAR entry scores for admission to university courses.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING, AUSTRALIAN LEARNING LECTURE PROJECT, UNIVERSITY OF WOLLONGONG, VICTORIA UNIVERSITY, SWINBURNE UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence jumps to 114.7

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 2-Oct-19

ANZ-Roy Morgan Australian Consumer Confidence rose 4.2% to 114.7 in the week ended 29 September, closing above its long-term average. Households’ views towards current financial conditions rose 6.9% and remain above the long-run average, while views towards future financial conditions gained 5.9%; both subindices remain above their long-term averages. Consumers’ views toward current economic conditions rose 3.5%, and views towards future economic conditions gained 5.7%; despite the jump, both subindices remain below their long-term averages. The ‘time to buy a major household item’ index rose 7.1% after falling to a 10-year low in the previous week, and it remains well below its long run average. Inflation expectations were unchanged at 4.1%.

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

Our miracle delivers Aussie dream: China

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Original article by Ben Packham
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 1-Oct-19

China’s ambassador to Australia, Cheng ­Jingye, says China does not want to dominate the world, but to build a better life for its citizens. Speaking on the eve of the 70th anniversary of China’s communist revolution, Cheng said that although China is now the world’s second biggest economy, it could be another 30 years before it can regarded as developed. He says Australia would do well to remember that it has China to thank for its economic success, and that there needs to be greater mutual respect between the two countries.

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Australian reliance on China at record

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Original article by Matthew Cranston
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 10 : 1-Oct-19

Data from the Australian National University shows that China now accounts for 38 per cent of Australia’s total exports, compared with 34 per cent in 2018. The value of the nation’s exports to China during the first seven months of 2019 totalled $84bn, which is about $12bn per month, up from $9.8bn a month in 2018. In contrast, Japan’s share of Australian exports was just 16 per cent in 2018, having peaked at more than 30 per cent in 1976.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, GOLDMAN SACHS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, VALE SA

Brawl over voluntary super push

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Original article by John Kehoe
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 30-Sep-19

SMSF Association chair Deborah Ralston was recently named as a members of the federal government’s review of the retirement income system. It has been revealed that Ralston wrote to Treasurer Josh Frydenberg in early July. Amongst other things, she suggested that compulsory superannuation contributions could become voluntary for people on low incomes and young workers, a proposal that has been criticised by Industry Super Australia chairman Greg Combet. Ralston also called for the abolition of tax concessions for large super balances and questioned the need to increase the super guarantee from 9.5 per cent to 12 per cent.

CORPORATES
SMSF ASSOCIATION, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, MONASH UNIVERSITY, INDUSTRY SUPER AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, ACTU, ALLIANCE FOR A FAIRER RETIREMENT SYSTEM, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

Union activities may breach building codes

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 9 : 30-Sep-19

The Australian Building & Construction Commission has warned that the Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining & Energy Union’s draft pattern agreement includes clauses that breach the federal building code. Amongst other things, the New South Wales agreement allows union flags to be displayed on building sites and provides for workers to be paid for attending union meetings during bargaining. Master Builders Australia says the agreement as the most restrictive it has seen.

CORPORATES
CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MARITIME, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION COMMISSION, MASTER BUILDERS AUSTRALIA INCORPORATED

Costs balloon in NDIS surge

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Original article by Geoff Chambers
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 30-Sep-19

Annual expenditure on the National Disability Insurance Scheme blew out to $11.9bn in 2018-19, with more than 117,000 new participants joining the NDIS during the financial year. Data from the National Disability Insurance Agency also shows that there has been a sharp rise in costs associated with external consultants and service providers, including recruitment firms, call centres and law firms. An NDIA spokeswoman says that spending on contractors and consultants is expected to account for 1.6 per cent of the NDIS’s total costs in 2019-20, compared with 2.6 per cent in 2017-18.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. NATIONAL DISABILITY INSURANCE AGENCY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF SOCIAL SERVICES, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Giant loss nets Seven worst grand final rating in 18 years

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Original article by Zoe Samios
The Australian – Page: 23 & 25 : 30-Sep-19

Data from OzTAM shows that the Seven Network’s broadcast of the 2019 AFL Grand Final boasted a metropolitan audience of 2.197 million viewers, compared with 2.601 million in 2018. The nationwide audience fell from 3.378 million in 2018 to just 2.939 million. Richmond’s 89-point victory over the Greater Western Sydney Giants was the third-biggest winning margin in AFL/VFL history.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN FOOTBALL LEAGUE, RICHMOND FOOTBALL CLUB, GREATER WESTERN SYDNEY FOOTBALL CLUB, SEVEN NETWORK LIMITED, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, OZTAM PTY LTD, STREEM PTY LTD, NATIONAL RUGBY LEAGUE, NINE NETWORK AUSTRALIA LIMITED, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD

NSW Premier doesn’t turn up to final vote on abortion

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Original article by Aaron Patrick
The Australian Financial Review – Page: Online : 27-Sep-19

The New South Wales Lower House approved the Abortion Law Reform Act on 26 September via a verbal vote known as "on the voices". The Act had been approved in the NSW Upper House by 26-11 on the previous day. Anti-abortion groups attacked the passage of the legislation, while its passage was welcomed by pro-abortion bodies and feminists. NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian, whose handling of the controversial legislation has seen her come under fire from many Liberal MPs, was not present in the Lower House when verbal consent was given to its passage.

CORPORATES
NEW SOUTH WALES. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET