O75 Public Administration

Religion bill will make it harder to sack people

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 30-Aug-19

Attorney-General Christian Porter released a draft of the federal government’s proposed Religious Discrimination Bill on 29 August. Porter says the legislation aims to protect people on the basis of their religion, but does not give them a "licence to discriminate against other people", or to engage in vilifying or harassing speech. Under the proposed legislation, a company with turnover of at least $50 million that sacks someone for expressing a religious view that breaches a condition of their employment will need to show that retaining the employee could cause it "unjustifiable financial hardship”.

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AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT

Fear of Aussie beef with Trump

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Original article by Ean Higgins
The Australian – Page: 8 : 30-Aug-19

Trade expert Alan Oxley says the proposed trade deal between the US and Japan is likely to have an impact on Australia’s beef exports. The nation is the biggest supplier of beef to Japan at present, and the trade deal will reduce Australia’s competitive advantage over the US with regard to Japan’s beef import tariffs. Trade Minister Simon Birm­ingham has sought to downplay concerns about the US-Japan trade deal, noting that Australian beef exports to Japan reached record levels in 2018.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND TRADE, NATIONAL FARMERS’ FEDERATION LIMITED, UNITED STATES. EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT, JAPAN. OFFICE OF THE PRIME MINISTER, TW PEARSON AND SON, CATTLE COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA

Investment outlook clouded by global risks

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Original article by David Rogers
The Australian – Page: 25 : 30-Aug-19

Marcel Thieliant of Capital Economics expects the upcoming national accounts data to show that the Australian economy grew by just 0.2 per cent in the June quarter. This follows the release of data showing an 0.5 per cent decline in private new capital expenditure during the quarter; financial markets had anticipated an increase of 0.4 per cent. However, there has been a 16.7 per rise in capital expenditure intentions for 2019-20, with capex estimates in the mining sector revised upwards by 17.7 per cent.

CORPORATES
CAPITAL ECONOMICS LIMITED, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, AMP CAPITAL INVESTORS LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, BUSINESS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

Hard economic landing would deliver a body blow

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Original article by Geoff Chambers
The Australian – Page: 4 : 29-Aug-19

PwC’s chief economist Jeremy Thorpe has warned of the potential impact on Australia if the Chinese economy experiences a hard landing. He says the resulting downturn in Australia’s exports to China would reduce government revenue from corporate taxes and mining royalties, while Budget surplus forecasts would need to revised. Thorpe adds that there could also be mine closures and job losses in the resources sector if lower Chinese demand puts downward pressure on commodity prices.

CORPORATES
PRICEWATERHOUSECOOPERS AUSTRALIA (INTERNATIONAL) PTY LTD, DELOITTE TOUCHE TOHMATSU LIMITED

Plutus fraudster seeking happiness gets jail

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 5 : 29-Aug-19

Plutus Payroll’s former general manager Joshua Kitson will be eligible for parole in three years, after being jailed for his role in a $105m tax fraud. His 4.5-year sentence in the Supreme Court of New South Wales is the first to be handed down as a result of the massive fraud. Justice Anthony Payne ruled that although Kitson was not one of the main instigator’s of the fraud, he had played an integral role and described him as an "essential facilitator".

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PLUTUS PAYROLL AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, SUPREME COURT OF NEW SOUTH WALES

NSW Labor suspends party’s HQ boss

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Original article by Brad Norington
The Australian – Page: 1 & 6 : 29-Aug-19

Labor’s New South Wales branch has suspended its general secretary, Kaila Murnain, as the scandal over political donations from a Chinese property developer deepens. Murnain appeared before the Independent Commission Against Corruption on 28 August, where she admitted that she had been aware of the illegal donation in September 2016 but had remained silent about it on the advice of Labor’s lawyer Ian Robertson. Labor’s NSW parliamentary leader Jodi McKay says she immediately took action to have Murnain suspended.

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AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, NEW SOUTH WALES. INDEPENDENT COMMISSION AGAINST CORRUPTION

Dark clouds over construction

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Original article by Michael Roddan
The Australian – Page: 2 : 29-Aug-19

Westpac economist Andrew Hanlan has warned that the downturn in Australia’s construction sector will have weighed on GDP growth in the June quarter. The latest GDP data will be released in early September, and analysts have forecast that the economy grew by just 1.2 per cent in the year to June, which would be its lowest rate of growth since the global financial crisis. Official data shows that construction activity fell by 3.8 per cent in the June quarter, including a 5.1 per cent decline in residential construction.

CORPORATES
WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS, IFM INVESTORS PTY LTD, JP MORGAN AUSTRALIA LIMITED, MASTER BUILDERS AUSTRALIA INCORPORATED, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

Grow business or be swamped: SEEK boss

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Original article by Damon Kitney, Joyce Moullakis
The Australian – Page: 2 : 29-Aug-19

SEEK CEO Andrew Bassat­ and Macquarie Group CEO Shemara Wikramanayak have backed a recent call by Treasurer Josh Frydenberg for Australian companies to lift productivity by reinvesting in their business rather than returning capital to shareholders. Bassat says Australian companies will be less competitive internationally if their level of capital investment continues to lag that of their global peers. However, Boral CEO Mike Kane is amongst the business leaders who have rejected Frydenberg’s comments.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, SEEK LIMITED – ASX SEK, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, BORAL LIMITED – ASX BLD, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG

Electric car transition unstoppable: Labor

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Original article by Richard Ferguson
The Australian – Page: 2 : 28-Aug-19

The federal government will contribute $15m to the cost of building 48 electric vehicle charging stations in the eastern states. Meanwhile, shadow energy minister Mark Butler has doubled down on his recent comments regarding Labor’s election policy on electric vehicles, stating that the transition to electric cars is "unstoppable". Butler has maintained that Labor’s target for electric vehicles to account for 50 per cent of new car sales by 2030 was ambitious but "very sensible".

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, ABMARC

Proposed tax reforms a betrayal of small business

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Original article by Robert Gottliebsen
The Australian – Page: 25 : 28-Aug-19

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has stressed the need for incentives for businesses to invest by reducing taxes and red tape. However, the federal government’s actions are in fact contrary to its stated intentions. Amongst other things, the Coalition proposes to make directors personally liable for their company’s GST payments and empower the Australian Taxation Office to freeze GST refunds. Likewise, the government wants to introduce criminal penalties for making cash payments of $10,000 or more to any company that has an Australian Business Number. While these measures have the worthy aim of cracking down on phoenix companies and the cash economy, the government’s approach to their implementation has been a complete disaster and could ensure its loss at the next election.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY