O75 Public Administration

Stop arguing: Industrial Relations tsar’s call to bosses, unions

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 1 & 6 : 16-Aug-19

Fair Work Commission president Iain Ross says he agrees with Business Council of Australia CEO Jennifer Westacott that improving living standards relies on boosting productivity. However, he has queried her claim that the Fair Work Act’s ‘better off overall test’ (BOOT) is a "productivity killer", with the BCA recently saying it wants it replaced with a different test . Ross says doing away with the BOOT could lift profits and reduce wages, but may not necessarily lift productivity. He noted the BCA proposal had received a "predictable response" from Labor and the ACTU that it was Work Choices Mark II.

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AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, BUSINESS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, ACTU, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Morrison under fire over climate pact

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 7 : 16-Aug-19

Australia is continuing with its efforts to make changes to the Pacific Island Forum’s final communique. It is seeking to have the phrase ‘climate change crisis’ replaced with ‘climate change reality’, while it does not want the statement to call for a moratorium on new coal mines and to endorse the phasing out of coal-fired power, something that Pacific Island nations were seeking. The Forum has seen a degree of tension between Australia and New Zealand, with NZ Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern joining with Pacific Island nations in calling on Australia to do more to tackle climate change. However, NZ Foreign Minister Winston Peters has queried why Pacific Island nations were not pressuring China on the issue, given its contribution to climate change is far greater.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

Bargaining at risk: ex-Fair Work deputy

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 10 : 15-Aug-19

Former Fair Work Commission senior deputy president Peter Richard has echoed calls from business that there needs to be a simpler test used to approve enterprise bargaining agreements. The Business Council of Australia stated recently that the existing better-off overall test (BOOT) was a "productivity killer", and Richards says the primary cause of the failing enterprise bargaining system is the BOOT. He says that collective agreements have ironically become "bundles of individual contracts".

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AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, BUSINESS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA

Hot air: NZ sets carbon test for PM

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Original article by Ben Packham, Graham Lloyd
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 15-Aug-19

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said on 14 August that her government was seeking to limit global warming to 1.5 Celsius compared to pre-industrial levels. She was speaking on her arrival in Tuvalu for the Pacific Islands Forum, with small nations in the Pacific wanting the New Zealand target to be included as a goal in the forum leaders’ declaration. New Zealand’s target is 0.5 Celsius less than that advocated by Australia. Ardern says every nation needs to do its bit in combatting global warming, although New Zealand has pledged $300 million less than Australia in terms of direct climate assistance to Pacific nations in the 10 years to 2025.

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Public servants set the pace in race for pay rise

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Original article by Michael Roddan
The Australian – Page: 2 : 15-Aug-19

The Australian Bureau of Statistics advised on 14 August that overall wages had increased by 0.6 per cent in the June quarter. Public sector wages rose by 0.8 per cent, while private sector wages were up by just 0.5 per cent. For the year to June, public sector wages were up by 2.6 per cent, while private sector wages rose by 2.3 per cent. Reserve Bank governor Philip Lowe had stated on 9 August that federal and state governments should lift caps on public sector wages; he claimed the caps were impeding general salary increases. However, his calls to lift caps were attacked by Finance Minister Mathias Cormann.

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AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FINANCE

India’s energy vow: We will buy more of your good coal

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Original article by Ben Packham
The Australian – Page: 5 : 15-Aug-19

India’s high commissioner to Australia, Ajay Gondane, says the recent approval of the Adani coal mine has strengthened the trading relationship between Australia and India. Gondane says India’s demand for coal will continue to rise, despite attempts to reduce its reliance on coal for its power generation needs. Gondane notes India does have a lot of coal, but it is not clean, and so India would prefer to use Australia’s ‘good’ coal. Gondane, who will finish his time in Australia in October, says India and Australia shared "common thinking".

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ADANI MINING PTY LTD

Surveys to shed revealing light on health of the nation

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Original article by Sean Parnell
The Australian – Page: 4 : 14-Aug-19

Health Minister Greg Hunt will announce on 14 August details of the Intergenerational Health and Mental Health Study, which is expected to cost $90 million and take three years to complete. It will comprise four surveys that will be overseen by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, with the first being a mental health and wellbeing survey. It will be followed by a National Health Study, while there will also be a National Nutrition and Physical Activity Study and a National Health Measures Study. The surveys are being undertaken because of concerns that policy and reforms are being based on out-of-date information.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF HEALTH, AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS

Hong Kong protests not terrorism: PM

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 14-Aug-19

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has questioned China’s use of the term terrorism in regard to the current protests in Hong Kong. With protesters having brought Hong Kong’s airport to a standstill on 12 August, China accused the protestors of "serious crimes with sprouts of terrorism emerging". Morrison says he would like to see the tensions in Hong Kong de-escalated, and for Hong Kong authorities to heed the concerns of its citizens. Morrison’s call for the de-escalation of tensions in Hong Kong has been echoed by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

xLoner’s ideology of death

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Original article by Deborah Cornwall, Sascha O’Sullivan
The Australian – Page: 1 & 6 : 14-Aug-19

New South Wales Police Commissioner Mick Fuller says the man alleged to have murdered one woman and stabbed another during a bloody rampage in Sydney on 13 August had no apparent connections to terror groups. Mert Ney, who was carrying a butcher’s knife and shouting "Allahu akbar!" , was tackled by onlookers until police and emergency services could arrive. Fuller said information found in Ney’s possession suggested he had "ideologies relating to terrorism but he has no links to terrorism". Prime Minister Scott Morrison says the attack was "deeply concerning", while NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian, who is currently in London, said her thoughts were with all the victims and witnesses of "this horrific incident".

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence virtually unchanged at 115.5

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 14-Aug-19

ANZ-Roy Morgan Australian Consumer Confidence eased 0.3% to 115.5 in the week ending 11 August, consolidating at an above average level. Current finances were up by 2.6% for the week, while future finances gained 2.4%. The economic conditions sub-indices were down, with current economic conditions falling 4.3%, closing below its long-term average, while future economic conditions lost 0.3%. The ‘time to buy a major household item’ index fell 2.6%, while the four-week moving average for inflation expectations was stable at 4.0%.

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