O75 Public Administration

Legislation needed to stop tax office overreach

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Robert Gottliebsen
The Australian – Page: 25 : 22-May-19

There was bipartisan political support for the proposed independent small business tax tribunal ahead of the 2019 federal election. The lawyer-free tribunal was intended to address the toxic culture at the Australian Taxation Office with regard to its treatment of small businesses, but the ATO’s abuse of small businesses appears to be continuing. The newly re-elected Coalition government must take all necessary action to ensure that there is much-needed cultural change at the ATO.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE, AUSTRALIA. OFFICE OF THE AUSTRALIAN SMALL BUSINESS AND FAMILY ENTERPRISE OMBUDSMAN, AUSTRALIA. ADMINISTRATIVE APPEALS TRIBUNAL

Weak Shorten: union calls for party overhaul

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Mark Ludlow, David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 9 : 22-May-19

Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining & Energy Union official Shane Brunker says the federal election shows that Labor has lost touch with grass-roots supporters. He has accused former Labor leader Bill Shorten of "pandering to inner-city voters" at the expense of the party’s traditional supporter base, and warned that the Queensland government also faces an election defeat in 2020 unless it heeds this message. Labor’s lack of clarity regarding Adani’s proposed Carmichael coal mine contributed to its poor election performance in regional Queensland.

CORPORATES
CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MARITIME, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, ADANI MINING PTY LTD, QUEENSLAND. DEPT OF THE PREMIER AND CABINET

Coalition secures majority, and may get a buffer

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Rachel Baxendale, Victoria Laurie
The Australian – Page: 7 : 22-May-19

The Coalition may extend its majority in the lower house, with Liberal candidates holding slim leads in several seats that remain in doubt. Liberal candidate Gladys Liu was declared the winner in the seat of Chisholm on 21 May, ensuring that the Coalition will have the 76 lower house seats it requires to govern in its own right. The Liberals may also win the seats of Bass and Macquarie, although the Australian Electoral Commission has indicated that Labor is likely to win the seats of Cowan and Lilley.

CORPORATES
LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN ELECTORAL COMMISSION

Promised cuts ‘don’t have to wait for parliament’

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Richard Ferguson, Joe Kelly
The Australian – Page: 7 : 22-May-19

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg says the proposed increase in the low and middle-income tax offset will be the Coalition’s top priority when parliament resumes. He has conceded that parliament is unlikely to be reconvened before 30 June to allow the tax cuts to be passed before the start of the new financial year. A spokesman for the Australian Taxation Office has advised that the changes to the tax offset can be applied retrospectively if the legislation is passed after 1 July.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence recovers after Federal Election result

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 22-May-19

ANZ-Roy Morgan Australian Consumer Confidence rose 2.1% to 117.2 in the week ended 19 May, reversing the previous week’s loss. The survey coincided with the election, so much of the gain likely reflects the impact of the surprise win by the Coalition. Households’ views towards current financial conditions rose 0.5%, while views towards future financial conditions rose 1.2%. Consumers’ views toward current economic conditions rose 3.8%, compared to a fall of 8.1% previously, while future economic conditions were up 0.9%. The ‘time to buy a household item’ index rose 4.1% to its highest level since the end of March.

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

TWU set to bring chaos to airports

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 6 : 21-May-19

The Transport Workers’ Union will begin serving claims for improved wages and conditions on Australia’s major airports in the week beginning 21 May. It will then start to lodge claims with major road transport companies. TWU national secretary Michael Kaine says it has spent the last five years aligning 200 enterprise agreements covering 38,000 workers to expire in 2020, so as to maximise the impact of its bargaining efforts, including the right to legally strike.

CORPORATES
TRANSPORT WORKERS’ UNION, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Shorten fell for elites, says Trump strategist

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Cameron Stewart
The Australian – Page: 1 & 6 : 21-May-19

Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s unexpected election win has been likened to Donald Trump’s US presidential election victory in 2016. Steve Bannon, Trump’s former chief strategist, says there were similarities between the US businessman’s "forgotten people" and Morrison’s "quiet Australians". He believes that as was the case in the US, many Australian voters were reluctant to tell pollsters that they supported Morrison. Bannon adds that former Labor leader Bill Shorten had focused on "inner-city elites" rather than ordinary Australian families.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, UNITED STATES. EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT

Unions try to fathom loss of workers’ vote

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 6 : 21-May-19

Analysis of voting at the federal election indicates that the labour movement needs to do a better job of communicating with working-class voters, following Labor’s shock loss. BCG Gamma has found that electorates with households with a median weekly income of more than $1,800 preferred to vote for Labor rather than the Coalition, as were electorates where more voters had a higher education. Union leaders suggest that working-class voters steered away from Labor over a range of issues, including its proposed changes to negative gearing and its mixed messages on the Adani coal mine. The ACTU is tipped to review its $10 million ‘Change the Rules’ advertising campaign in the wake of the election.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, BCG GAMMA, ACTU, ELECTRICAL TRADES UNION, VICTORIAN TRADES HALL COUNCIL

GetUp to get what’s coming: Dutton

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Brad Norington
The Australian – Page: 5 : 21-May-19

Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton claims activist group GetUp spent over $1 million in its unsuccessful attempt to remove him from his seat of Dickson at the federal election. Dutton has accused GetUp of being a front for the Greens and Labor, and says it engaged in "deceptive", "undemocratic" and "unrepresentative" conduct. Dutton says he would back efforts by Liberal MPs Ben Morton and Eric Abetz to get the Australian Electoral Commission to declare that GetUp is an "associated" political entity of either the Greens and Labor, which would damage its stance of being independent.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF HOME AFFAIRS, GETUP LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN GREENS

Libs ahead in three of six undecided seats

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Rachel Baxendale, Sarah Elks
The Australian – Page: 5 : 21-May-19

The Coalition remains one seat short of the 76 lower house seats needed to form majority government. The outcome of six seats is still in doubt, although the Coalition had a slim lead in the seats of Macquarie, Bass and Chisholm on 20 May. Labor in turn had a narrow lead in the seats of Cowan, Lilley and Corangamite. Postal and absentee votes may determine the final result in all seats that are still in doubt.

CORPORATES
LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, LIBERAL-NATIONAL PARTY OF QUEENSLAND