O75 Public Administration

Tax cuts, not surpluses, key to growth

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Original article by Adam Creighton
The Australian – Page: 5 : 24-Sep-19

Returning the Budget to surplus has been a priority for the federal government since it won office in 2013, and it is on track for a surplus in 2019-20 after posting a deficit of less than $700m for 2018-19. However, documents released under Freedom of Information laws show that the Treasury is of the view that tax cuts may be the best way to stimulate the economy. The Treasury papers note that the government’s income tax cuts package will boost household disposable income by 0.75 per cent over three years, while delaying or reversing future tax cuts would reduce the efficiency of the economy and the tax system.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY

Dodgy claims are declining, says Tax Office

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Original article by Tom McIlroy
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 8 : 23-Sep-19

Increases to the low- and middle-income tax offset and the federal government’s $158 million income tax cuts package have prompted a jump in the early lodgement of tax returns. However, despite the rush by taxpayers to get their tax refunds as soon as possible, the Australian Taxation Office has noticed a fall in the number of incorrect claims for tax deductions. The ATO issued over 5.4 million tax refunds in the first nine weeks of the 2019-20 financial year, worth a total of $14.5 billion.

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AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE

Solitude warning for Australia

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Original article by Michael Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 10 : 23-Sep-19

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has stated that his visit to Washington will lay the foundation for another century of friendship between Australia and the US. However, Chinese academic Yu Lei has stated in ‘The Global Times’ that Australia risks straining its relationship with Asian nations if it boosts military ties with the US, and that this could leave it in solitude. US President Donald Trump stated during Morrison’s visit that the trade war with China could run until the presidential election in November 2020, while he stated during a joint news conference with Morrison that China represents a "threat to the world".

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

PM urges China to settle

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Original article by Dennis Shanahan
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 23-Sep-19

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has urged the US and China to take action to resolve their trade dispute as quickly as possible. Following a meeting with President Donald Trump, Morrison stated that he had a "clear sense" that Trump is also keen for a resolution to the trade war. He added that any deal must be sustainable and address issues such as breaches of intellectual property and forced technology transfer. Morrison has downplayed recent comments by former prime minister Kevin Rudd, who suggested that the G20 leaders’ summit in November will be the last opportunity for the US and China to resolve the trade war.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, UNITED STATES. EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT, GROUP OF TWENTY (G-20), AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Photos of captive Aussie at Iranian uni

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Original article by Mark Schliebs
The Australian – Page: 1 & 5 : 20-Sep-19

University of Melbourne academic Kylie Moore-Gilbert, who has dual Australian-British citizenship, has been accused of "spying for another country" by Iranian authorities. News of her detention in Iran has only recently been made public, but it is understood she was arrested not long after she completed a course on Shia studies at the University of Religions and Denomination at Qom in Iran in August in 2018, and that she has been held in solitary confinement for about a year. Pictures taken of Moore-Gilbert just before she was arrested were used by the university in promotional materials.

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UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE

Civil war erupts in CFMEU over Setka

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 11 : 20-Sep-19

The Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining & Energy Union’s mining and energy division has attacked John Setka’s Victorian construction division over its poaching of members from the CFMMEU’s manufacturing division. The manufacturing division is headed up by Michael O’Connor, who is also the CFMMEU’s national secretary. The relationship between O’Connor and Setka is understood to have become strained over O’Connor’s failure to publicly support Setka, after the ACTU called on Setka to stand down after he was convicted for harassing his wife.

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CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MARITIME, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA

After decade of deficits, budget ‘back to balance’, says Frydenberg

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Original article by Adam Creighton, Michael Roddan
The Australian – Page: 1 & 6 : 20-Sep-19

Federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg unveiled a budget deficit of $700 million for the 2018-19 financial year on 19 September. Frydenberg noted that the federal government had kept spending under the long-run average of 24.7 per cent of GDP for the second year running, while he said the creation of 300,000 jobs in 2018-19 had meant increased tax collections and reduced welfare expenses. The $700 million deficit was a $14 billion improvement on what had been predicted in May 2018, while a budget surplus is likely for 2019-20 if high commodity prices and strong employment growth continue to boost the government’s tax coffers.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY

Measuring Australia’s digital divide – The Australian Digital Inclusion Index 2019

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Original article by
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 20-Sep-19

The 2019 edition of the Digital Inclusion Index has been released, with the Index looking at the online participation of Australians through three measures – affordability, access and digital ability. The Index is developed and produced by RMIT University’s Digital Ethnography Research Centre and the Centre for Social Impact at Swinburne University in partnership with Telstra and Roy Morgan. The 2019 Index reveals there was marginal improvement in digital ability, and that access continued to improve. The share of total household budgets spent on internet services increased in 2019, while the affordability gap between high and low-income households remains at the same level as in 2014. Affordability is unlikely to improve unless household income rises for those in low-income brackets or a low-cost NBN product becomes available.

CORPORATES
RMIT UNIVERSITY, SWINBURNE UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, ROY MORGAN LIMITED

Plan to modernise gritty Queen Vic Market sparks fears

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Original article by Jewel Topsfield
The Sydney Morning Herald – Page: Online : 18-Sep-19

Melbourne Lord Mayor Sally Capp says new modernisation plans for that city’s historic Queen Victoria Market will enable it to keep operating successfully for another 100 years. The new plans include increased refrigeration for fresh produce stall holders and centralised waste and recycling facilities. However, Friends of Queen Victoria Market president Mary-Lou Howie says the market would lose its ‘gritty’ appeal under the proposed plans, which she contends are the work of ‘neatniks’. She says the main concern of traders remains the proposed replacement of the market’s open-air park with a public space.

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CITY OF MELBOURNE

Some women lie about domestic violence: Hanson

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Original article by Tom McIlroy
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 5 : 19-Sep-19

Labor plans to oppose an inquiry into the family law system, with the inquiry to be headed up by Kevin Andrews, with One Nation leader Pauline Hanson as deputy chair. Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese claims Prime Minister Scott Morrison went back on a promise to consult Labor about the proposed inquiry, accusing him of acting unilaterally to do a deal with Hanson. Hanson has campaigned for years for changes to the Family Court and for the rights of men to be better heard in family breakdown cases. She angered Labor, the Greens and domestic violence campaigners on 18 September when she alleged some women lie about domestic violence in order to "game the courts".

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