O75 Public Administration

Casualisation of workforce falls, finds ABS

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Tim Boyd
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 7 : 23-Jan-19

Official data shows that casual employees accounted for 22 per cent of the Australian workforce in May 2018, down from 22.6 per cent two years earlier. The Australian Bureau of Statistics’ latest biennial employees earnings survey also shows that the number of employees totalled 10,647,200 in May 2018. Mark Wooden, the director of the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) survey project, says the ABS survey provides an accurate reading on the number of casual employees as it interviews employers rather than workers.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS, CENTRE FOR FUTURE WORK, ACTU

PM’s Mundine pick sparks feud

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Joe Kelly, Rosie Lewis
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 23-Jan-19

Grant Schultz has resigned from the Liberal Party after being disendorsed as its candidate for the New South Wales seat of Gilmore at the upcoming federal election. He has criticised Prime Minister Scott Morrison for intervening in the pre-selection process, amid speculation that indigenous leader Warren Mundine will be selected as the Liberals’ candidate despite not yet being a member of the party. Schultz has flagged his intention to contest the seat as an independent. Mundine is a former national president of the Australian Labor Party.

CORPORATES
LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, LIBERAL PARTY OF NEW SOUTH WALES, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Budget surplus on track, says Frydenberg

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Lucas Baird
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 5 : 23-Jan-19

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg remains confident that the federal government will return the Budget to surplus in 2019-20. This is despite domestic and global headwinds, including the International Monetary Fund’s latest downgrade of its global economic growth forecast. Frydenberg also used a Sydney Institute speech to warn that the domestic economy cannot afford Labor’s proposed $200bn package of tax increases. He added that unlike Labor, the Coalition will increase health, education and infrastructure spending without increasing taxes.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND, SYDNEY INSTITUTE, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Bowen touts $200b tax hike buffer

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by John Kehoe
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 23-Jan-19

Shadow treasurer Chris Bowen identifies Australia’s high level of household debt and low wages growth as key issues that concern him. Bowen adds that Labor’s proposed $200bn package of tax increases is necessary to provide the nation with a "fiscal buffer" in the event of a global economic downturn. He has also defended Labor’s plan to direct the bulk of tax relief to low- and middle-income earners, arguing that they tend to spend more than people on high incomes. Bowen has also downplayed fears that Labor’s negative gearing reforms would have an adverse effect on residential property values.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND

Tax strike on Airbnb, Uber users

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Simon Benson
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 23-Jan-19

The federal government is planning a tax crackdown on the 11 million Australians who earn income from platforms such as Uber and Airbnb. It is estimated that income from shared-economy platforms now totals around $15bn a year, but at present the Australian Taxation Office is not able to determine the extent of underpayment or non-payment of tax on such income. The government proposes the introduction of a mandatory tax liability reporting regime for people who work in the shared economy. It will release a discussion paper on the issue on 23 January.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, UBER AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AIRBNB AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE, AIRTASKER PTY LTD, DELIVEROO AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, UBER EATS

Merivale reviewing viability due to EBA determination on wages

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 8 : 22-Jan-19

Employees of hospitality group Merivale will be shifted to the industry award after the Fair Work Commission terminated an enterprise agreement that had been struck in 2007. Merivale’s submission to the FWC had warned that some of its business practices may not be viable under the industry award, and that some employees may need to be reclassified as a result of the ruling. About 71 per cent of Merivale’s employees are casuals, who did not receive penalty rates and overtime pay under the enterprise agreement.

CORPORATES
MERIVALE GROUP, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, UNITED VOICE

Robb anoints O’Dwyer successor

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Rosie Lewis
The Australian – Page: 4 : 22-Jan-19

Coalition MPs Julie Bishop and Kevin Andrews say they intend to contest the 2019 federal election. Former Victorian premier Jeff Kennett recently called for other long-serving Coalition MPs to follow the example of Kelly O’Dwyer and step down at the election. Meanwhile, former trade minister Andrew Robb has backed his ex-chief of staff Zoe McKenzie to replace O’Dwyer in the seat of Higgins. Other contenders for the seat are said to include Katie Allen and Jess Wilson.

CORPORATES
LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, NBN CO LIMITED, BUSINESS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA

Argus warns Shorten on silly class war

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Patrick Durkin
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 22-Jan-19

Former BHP chairman Don Argus says Labor leader Bill Shorten could divide the nation if he contests the 2019 election on the basis of class warfare. Argus adds that despite Shorten’s rhetoric, the majority of employers and workers recognise the need to work together. Wesfarmers chairman Michael Chaney and AustralianSuper chair Heather Ridout are among the other business leaders who have cautioned Shorten against engaging in populist politics.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP, WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES, AUSTRALIANSUPER PTY LTD, ASX LIMITED – ASX ASX, SIMS METAL MANAGEMENT LIMITED – ASX SGM, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, BLUESCOPE STEEL LIMITED – ASX BSL, THE AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY GROUP

No wonder business is nervous, says Shepherd

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Joe Kelly
The Australian – Page: 2 : 22-Jan-19

Former Business Council of Australia president Tony Shepherd says the nation’s economy is solely dependent on resources exports, which in turn are dependent on global economic growth. Shepherd has also warned that Australian policymakers have become complacent after 27 years of economic growth. Meanwhile, federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg says unions would be the biggest risk to the economy under Labor’s industrial relations policy.

CORPORATES
BUSINESS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, THE AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY GROUP

Danger of global slide, IMF warns

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by David Uren, Joe Kelly
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 22-Jan-19

The International Monetary Fund has downgraded its forecast for global economic growth in 2019 from 3.7 per cent to 3.5 per cent. Chief economist Gita Gop­inath says global economic growth is slowing at a faster pace than had been expected, warning that there is a heightened risk of a more significant downgrade in the IMF’s growth forecasts. The downgrade has coincided with the release of data showing that economic growth in China fell from 6.8 per cent to 6.6 per cent in 2018, its lowest level in almost three decades.

CORPORATES
INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, BUSINESS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, THE AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY GROUP, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, CHINA. NATIONAL BUREAU OF STATISTICS