O75 Public Administration

PM lashes Liu security risk claims as racism

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 6 : 13-Sep-19

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has told Parliament he is satisfied Gladys Liu is not a national security risk, while claiming those who questioned her fitness to serve in parliament were racist. Liu has been under the spotlight recently over allegations regarding her connections to organisations in China, one of which is Beijing’s propaganda arm, and Labor and Centre Alliance have both called for her to be investigated. Morrison has declined to answer what steps he took to assure himself that Liu was not a security risk, while Victorian Liberal president Michael Kroger said he knew nothing about suggestions raised in a newspaper that ASIO had advised the Liberal Party against pre-selecting Liu.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

From first lady of Labor to the bench

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Original article by Nicola Berkovic
The Australian – Page: 1 & 6 : 12-Sep-19

The New South Wales government announced the appointment of eight new magistrates to the NSW Local Court on 11 September, with one of the new appointees being Janine Lacy. Lacy is the wife of Mark Latham, who was leader of the federal Labor party when it was defeated heavily by the Howard government in 2004. Latham, who now represents One Nation in the NSW Upper House, said the NSW government had made no contact with him in regard to Lacy’s appointment. Latham said he was confident "she’ll do a great job".

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LOCAL COURT OF NEW SOUTH WALES AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY ONE NATION PARTY

Business warns about religious freedom bill

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Original article by John Kehoe
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 12-Sep-19

The Australian Industry Group has called for the federal government’s proposed religious freedom bill to be overhauled before it is put to a vote in Parliament. Attorney-General Christian Porter has said the bill does not stop companies from imposing ‘reasonable’ conditions on their staff. However, the AI Group contends the bill gives staff too much latitude in terms of using social media to violate company policies, and that the bill poses "significant" commercial challenges to businesses

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THE AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY GROUP AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT

ALP push for carbon target cut

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Original article by Rosie Lewis Greg Brown
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 12-Sep-19

It is understood that Labor may scrap its policy to cut emissions by 45 per cent by 2030, as Labor continues to review its policies in the wake of its surprise election loss in May. It is believed it is considering replacing that policy with one of having zero net emissions by 2050, with some Labor MPs seemingly of the view that it would be clearer than the ’45 per cent by 2030′ target. Opposition assistant climate change spokesman Pat Conroy claims it is vital that Australia be carbonneutral by 2050.

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AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Liberal MP Gladys Liu says she was not clear in gaffe-ridden interview

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Original article by Rob Harris
The Sydney Morning Herald – Page: Online : 12-Sep-19

Labor’s foreign affairs spokeswoman Penny Wong has called on Prime Minister Scott Morrison to assure Parliament that Gladys Liu is a "fit and proper person" to be there. Liu, who is the Liberal member of Chisholm and who was born in Hong Kong, has been the subject of allegations that she has links to Chinese propaganda units. In an error-ridden interview with Andrew Bolt on Sky on 10 September, Liu said she could not recall being a member of groups with connections to the Chinese Communist Party’s United Front Work Department. Liu said in a statement on 11 September that she could have chosen her words better, while she said any suggestion that she was not loyal to Australia was "deeply offensive".

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AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA

Nation weaning itself off benefits

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Original article by Stephen Lunn
The Australian – Page: 8 : 11-Sep-19

The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare 2019 welfare report states that the nation’s welfare bill has levelled at $130 billion over the past three years. The report, which will be released on 11 September, also states the proportion of working-age Australians receiving income support declined from 22 per cent in 1999 to 15 per cent in 2018. The AIHW report serves as a picture of Australia’s well-being, with AIHW spokesman Dinesh Indrahara noting Australia is in the top third of OECD countries on a range of measures, including social connectedness and life satisfaction.

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AUSTRALIAN INSTITUTE OF HEALTH AND WELFARE, ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT

The wages explanation you won’t hear from Treasury or the RBA

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Original article by David Peetz
The New Daily – Page: Online : 10-Sep-19

Australian nominal wage growth has been under half the OECD average since 2013, according to Jim Stanford from the Australia Institute’s Centre for Future Work. A senior Treasury official recently suggested low wage growth could be due to workers not changing jobs, while Reserve Bank governor Philip Lowe has contended caps on civil service pay rises might be another factor. A further factor behind low wage growth that neither Lowe or the Treasury official seemed to take into account is the reduction in worker bargaining power that has resulted from the fall in unionisation over recent decades.

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ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT, THE AUSTRALIA INSTITUTE LIMITED, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

Basin crisis: no water to flush rivers

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Original article by Ean Higgins, Andrew Clennell
The Australian – Page: 1 & 6 : 11-Sep-19

The Murray-Darling river system is facing a possible environmental catastrophe over the 2019-20 summer, due to a lack of water in dams in the system’s Northern Basin. Federal Environment Minister Sussan Ley says this lack of water means that authorities will not be able to replenish the northern river system, as they have done in the past two years. Ley says the possible impacts of not being able to do so include parts of the system drying up, native vegetation dying, and mass fish deaths.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence falls to 113.3

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

ANZ-Roy Morgan Australian Consumer Confidence fell 1% to 113.3 in the week ending 8 September. The fall was accentuated by a sharp decline of 7.1% in the ‘Time to buy a major household item’ sub-index. Current finances fell by 1.2%, the second decline in a row, while future finances gained 1.7%. Both the indices are well above their long term averages. Australians are still wary of the economic outlook, considering both the subindices are below their long terms averages. Inflation expectations were stable at 4% on the four-week moving average.

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

Promised $800 pensioner bonus delivered to less than 1 per cent of seniors

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Original article by Samantha Maiden
The New Daily – Page: Online : 10-Sep-19

Newspaper reports in June suggested that one million pensioners would receive a $800 cash bonus under the federal government’s changes to deeming rates. However, Social Security documents released under freedom of information laws indicate that single pensioners will get an average payment of just $249, while couples will receive an average payment of just $156. The documents indicate less than one per cent of the one million pensioners who benefit from the deeming rate changes will receive the full $800.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF SOCIAL SERVICES