O75 Public Administration

AFLW at war

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Original article by Michael Warner
Herald Sun – Page: 62 & 61 : 3-Oct-19

The AFL Players’ Association says the majority of AFLW footballers support a proposed three-year collective bargaining agreement, and a vote on the deal will be held shortly. However, a group of AFLW players who are dissatisfied with the proposed pay deal has engaged the services of law firm Maurice Blackburn to represent them. Amongst other things, the dissident group contends that AFLW players will receive a pay rise of seven per cent in 2020 when based on hourly rates, rather than 21 per cent as the AFLPA has claimed.

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AUSTRALIAN FOOTBALL LEAGUE, AUSTRALIAN FOOTBALL LEAGUE PLAYERS’ ASSOCIATION, MAURICE BLACKBURN PTY LTD

Inside a massive cyber hack that risks compromising leaders across the globe

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Original article by Stephanie Borys
abc.net au – Page: Online : 3-Oct-19

Australian National University vice chancellor Brian Schmidt says a cyber attack on its computer network in November 2018 was an ‘extremely sophisticated operation’. It was also very simply executed, with ANU’s systems being compromised after a staffer merely previewed an email with an attachment, which allowed the hackers to create a copy of the university’s network map. The hackers were then able to access ANU’s enterprise systems domain, which enabled them to steal the personal data of ANU students from the last 19 years. The motives of the hackers remain unknown, but the stolen data could potentially include that of former students who are now in positions of power in both Australia and abroad.

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AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY

US can have Downer but not the cables: Morrison

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 3-Oct-19

Prime Minister Scott Morrison say the federal government will co-operate with any request from the US to interview Alexander Downer as part of an investigation into the Mueller probe into allegations of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election campaign. Downer was Australia’s high commissioner to the UK in 2016, when he was told by a former Trump adviser that Russia had access to emails that could damage rival presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. However, Morrison has ruled out giving the US access to classified diplomatic cables associated with the meeting.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, UNITED STATES. EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT

RBA one step away from QE

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Original article by Matthew Cranston, John Kehoe, Aleks Vickovich
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 2-Oct-19

The Australian dollar reached an intra-day low of $US66.94 in local trading on 1 October, after the Reserve Bank of Australia reduced the cash rate to 0.75 per cent. RBA governor Philip Lowe signalled that the central bank is prepared to further ease monetary policy if necessary. The third rate cut in 2019 has heightened expectations that the cash rate will fall to 0.5 per cent in November. Andrew Boak of Goldman Sachs warns that this may be insufficient to lift inflation to within the RBA’s target range over the next several years. He adds that this in turn could necessitate further rate cuts, as well as the potential for quantitative easing.

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RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, JP MORGAN AUSTRALIA LIMITED, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, MORGAN STANLEY AUSTRALIA LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB

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.

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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%.

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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.

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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