O75 Public Administration

Morrison tax assault on Labor arrogance

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Original article by Simon Benson, Rosie Lewis
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 1-Jul-19

Prime Minister Scott Morrison expects Labor to pass the federal government’s income tax cuts package in the lower house on 2 July, and he says it would be an act of "belligerent arrogance" for Labor to then block it in the Senate. A senior Labor source has indicated that the party will wait until it knows if the Coalition has the support of crossbenchers before deciding whether to pass the tax package in the Senate. Labor continues to have concerns about the third stage of the tax cuts package, but the Coalition has ruled out splitting the tax bill.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, CENTRE ALLIANCE, ONE NATION PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FINANCE, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY

Dutton puts end to MP eligibility row

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Original article by Rosie Lewis
The Australian – Page: 6 : 28-Jun-19

A spokeswoman for Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton says he formally relinquished his interest in a family trust before nominating for the 18 May federal election. Dutton’s eligibility to be in parliament came under scrutiny in 2018 due to his pecuniary interest in a childcare centre which is owned by his wife and which had received federal government subsidies. The spokeswoman has stressed that two constitutional law experts had previously advised Dutton that he was not in breach of section 44 of the Constitution.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF HOME AFFAIRS, RHT FAMILY TRUST, UNIVERSITY OF SYDNEY

Unemployment rate needs to be 4pc to get wages up: Labor

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Original article by Matthew Cranston
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 12 : 28-Jun-19

Shadow assistant treasurer Andrew Leigh will use a speech on 28 June to argue the case for Australia’s full employment target to be lowered. The Reserve Bank of Australia has downwardly revised its estimate of full employment from 5.5 per cent to 4.5 per cent over the last few years, but Leigh will suggest that an employment rate of four per cent is "eminently achievable". He will state that this would result in an extra 160,000 Australians being employed. He says that creating jobs is the best way to boost wages growth.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF JOBS AND SMALL BUSINESS

PM urges G20 trade led recovery

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 28-Jun-19

Prime Minister Scott Morrison will use the G20 leaders’ summit in Osaka to bolster his efforts to get social media platforms to curb their dissemination of objectionable material in the wake of the Christchurch mosque killings. He will point out that G20 countries host the platforms that support social media companies’ content, which means such firms should take heed if the G20 urges them to do more to regulate their content. Morrison will also urge fellow G20 leaders not to let the World Trade Organization system get any worse, while acknowledging that it is imperfect and its members have lost confidence in it.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, GROUP OF TWENTY (G-20)

Pyne’s defence job breaches code

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Original article by Alice Workman, Michael Roddan
The Australian – Page: 6 : 28-Jun-19

Former defence minister Christopher Pyne has come under scrutiny over his new role as an adviser to Ernst & Young regarding the defence industry. Labor senator Penny Wong contends that Pyne is in breach of the federal government’s ministerial code of conduct, which continues to apply for 18 months after an MP leaves parliament. Wong and Centre Alliance senator Rex Patrick have urged Prime Minister Scott Morrison to intervene. Pyne retired from politics at the 18 May election.

CORPORATES
ERNST AND YOUNG, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, CENTRE ALLIANCE, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, GRATTAN INSTITUTE

Senators demand gas surplus for tax cuts

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Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith, Tom McIlroy
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 27-Jun-19

Centre Alliance senator Rex Patrick has presented the federal government with a number of policy demands in return for supporting its income tax cuts package. Amongst other things, Patrick wants the Australian Domestic Gas Security Mechanism to be strengthened to ensure that the east coast has a surplus of gas. At present, the ADGSM only requires that there is no shortfall of gas in the domestic market. The tax package is scheduled to be debated in the Senate on 4 July.

CORPORATES
CENTRE ALLIANCE, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INDUSTRY, INNOVATION AND SCIENCE, ORICA LIMITED – ASX ORI, SANTOS LIMITED – ASX STO, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, ONE NATION PARTY, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND TRADE

Coalition to reshape workplace landscape

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 4 : 27-Jun-19

Industrial Relations Minister Christian Porter says the federal government’s review of industrial relations laws will take 6-9 months. He adds that the government may pursue legislative changes before the next election if such reforms would increase jobs, boost wages and strengthen the economy. Amongst other things, the review will consider changes to unfair dismissal laws, the processes for approving enterprise agreements and a revised definition of ­casual employment. The government’s more immediate legislative priorities include passing the Ensuring Integrity Bill and stricter regulation of workers’ entitlement funds.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF JOBS AND SMALL BUSINESS, CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MARITIME, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION

Legal privilege claims in 20pc of ATO multinational cases

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Original article by Tim Pallas
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 10 : 27-Jun-19

The Australian Taxation Office has revealed that its push to crack down on tax avoidance by multinationals is being stymied by excessive claims that requested documents are protected by legal professional privilege. Deputy commissioner Mark Konza says that of the 122 audits of large multinationals that the ATO is currently undertaking, 24 companies have sought a blanket claim for legal professional privilege. This includes about 19,000 documents in one instance.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE

Public service growth hurting the economy

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Original article by Adam Creighton
The Australian – Page: 2 : 26-Jun-19

The Commonwealth Bank of Australia has released a report which shows that the public sector accounted for 85 per cent of jobs that were created in the year to May 2019. CBA economist Gareth Aird notes that a rise in public sector employment tends to result in a short-term increase in demand in the economy, but it does little to boost productivity. Aird adds that the non-productive nature of most public sector work is a key reason why GDP growth is slowing while jobs growth is strong.

CORPORATES
COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

PM calls for US-China calm

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Original article by Simon Benson
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 26-Jun-19

Prime Minister Scott Morrison will use his first foreign policy speech since the 18 May election to urge the US and China to resolve their trade dispute, stressing that they must act in the global interest rather than their own interests. Morrison’s speech on 26 June will also warn that the trade tensions are causing "collateral damage" in the Asia-Pacific region, and that Australia is prepared to act in its own economic and security interests if the dispute worsens.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, GROUP OF TWENTY (G-20), WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION