O75 Public Administration

Crossbench chaos to thwart Shorten plans

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Original article by Simon Benson
The Australian – Page: 2 : 19-Nov-18

Research conducted by the Australia Institute suggests that Labor will not be able to rely on a voting bloc with the Greens to get legislation passed by the Senate if it wins the next election. The Institute predicts that Labor and the Greens will have at best 38 senators between them, which is not enough for a majority. As a result, Labor would be required to enter into negotiations with crossbencher to get legislation passed in the same manner that the Coalition has had to do since 2013.

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THE AUSTRALIA INSTITUTE LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, ONE NATION PARTY, CENTRE ALLIANCE

Independent umpire pays the penalty

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Weekend Australian – Page: 18 : 17-Nov-18

Council of Small Business Organisations of Australia CEO Peter Strong says changes to Sunday and public holiday penalty rates do not seem to have led to more jobs or more hours for existing workers. However, he claims that this is due to increases in the minimum wage that have essentially offset the impact of the cuts, rather than because businesses are retaining the savings that have resulted from the cuts. Meanwhile, Australian Industry Group CEO Innes Willox says Labor’s proposed bill to prevent the Fair Work Commission from reducing the take-home pay of any worker is "obviously unfair to employers".

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COUNCIL OF SMALL BUSINESS ORGANISATIONS OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED, THE AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY GROUP, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, UNIVERSITY OF ADELAIDE, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, UNITED VOICE

Brexit plan set to delay FTA with Australia

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Original article by Hans van Leeuwen
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 9 : 19-Nov-18

The Australian-British Chamber of Commerce’s executive director Elizabeth Ames claims that British Prime Minister Theresa May’s proposed Brexit deal is "bad news" for both nations. The deal will put the UK in a customs union with the European Union until a longer-term free-trade agreement can be worked out. Ames says the UK could remain in the customs union indefinitely, during which time it would not be able to negotiate a trade deal with Australia or other nations. Australia exported $6.1 billion of goods to the UK in 2017, along with $5.4 billion worth of services.

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AUSTRALIAN-BRITISH CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, GREAT BRITAIN. OFFICE OF THE PRIME MINISTER

Aussie John warns Labor’s property plan a nuclear bomb

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Original article by Michael Roddan
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 19-Nov-18

Aussie Home Loans founder John Symond has warned that Labor’s proposed changes to the negative gearing regime could lead to a recession in Australia. He says that although the "grandfathering" provisions of the Labor reforms would benefit people who are buying their first home, they would cause property prices to fall and result in many existing homeowners having negative equity in their home. Symond supports negative gearing reforms, but he argues that they should primarily target people on high incomes.

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AUSSIE HOME LOANS LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, THE TAX INSTITUTE, SQM RESEARCH PTY LTD

Victorians give their views on the next State Government – Whether that is an ALP or L-NP Government

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Morgan Poll Update – Page: Online : 19-Nov-18

Victorians have given their views on the next State Government in a special snap SMS Morgan Poll ahead of this week’s election. ALP supporters mostly felt great about Premier Daniel Andrews and the job he is doing. Their concerns, if any, were related to the potential for the Government to engage in excessive spending and running up the debt. ALP supporters also mentioned the handling of the dispute between the Country Fire Authority and Metropolitan Fire Brigade and the closeness of the Andrews Government to unions including the United Firefighters’ Union. There were also concerns expressed about the Government’s commitment to rural infrastructure, increasing crime and the recently revealed deal with China. L-NP supporters’ concerns about Liberal Leader Matthew Guy leading a Liberal-National Government encompassed his low profile and lack of experience, as well as his apparent lack of vision and whether he is up to the job. Many L-NP supporters also mentioned whether the Liberals could be trusted to follow through on the promises they were making as well as concern about potential cuts to health, education and other services. Roy Morgan CEO Michele Levine says that although Victorian electors have plenty of questions surrounding the conduct of the Andrews Government on a number of issues, including a perception from many of excessive spending and their closeness to the unions, the strong performance of the Victorian economy this year is likely to prove decisive in re-electing Premier Daniel Andrews to another term.

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ROY MORGAN LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, LIBERAL PARTY OF VICTORIA, VICTORIA. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET

Inflation Expectations up 0.2% to 4.5% in October

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 19-Nov-18

Australians aged +14 expect inflation of 4.5% per year over the next two years, according to the Roy Morgan Inflation Expectations Index for October 2018. This is up 0.2% on a month ago, but unchanged from October 2017. Inflation Expectations have now tracked in a narrow range between 4.3-4.5% for 16 straight months, since July 2017. Inflation Expectations remain well below the eight-year average of 5.0%. Analysis shows that Inflation Expectations for supporters of the two major political parties are down compared to a year ago, while Inflation Expectations for Greens supporters are unchanged. However, Inflation Expectations for supporters of Independents and Others have increased substantially over the last year. October Inflation Expectations are based on a nationwide face-to-face survey of 4,156 Australians aged 14+.

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ROY MORGAN LIMITED

Antony Catalano in dramatic bid to scupper Nine, Fairfax merger

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Original article by John McDuling, Jennifer Duke
The Sydney Morning Herald – Page: Online : 19-Nov-18

Domain’s former CEO Antony Catalano has asked Fairfax Media chairman Nick Falloon to adjoin the 19 November shareholders’ vote on the proposed merger with Nine Entertainment Company. The scrip component of Nine’s offer is 0.3627 per share; Catalano says this means it is a "terrible deal" given that Fairfax is trading at $0.61 per share, compared with $0.94 when the deal was announced. Catalano has also told Falloon that he may seek to buy up to 19.9 per cent of Fairfax shares at above market prices in order to block the deal. He holds stakes of about one per cent in both Fairfax and Domain.

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FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, DOMAIN HOLDINGS AUSTRALIA LIMITED – ASX DHA, THORNEY INVESTMENT GROUP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

The Saltbush Club: skilled and thinking Australians concerned at the huge costs and unproven benefits of the climate, energy and infrastructure policies on both sides of Federal Parliament

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Original article by Viv Forbes
pickeringpost.com – Page: Online : 16-Nov-18

A newly formed lobby group called the Saltbush Club is calling for Australia to withdraw from the Paris Climate Agreement. Jerry Ellis, founding chairman of the Club and a former chairman of BHP, contends that Australia’s efforts to reach its Paris targets have led to higher electricity prices and unreliable power supply. Hugh Morgan, a former CEO of Western Mining and director of the Saltbush Club, states that the Climate Agreement is really about the transfer of wealth to less developed nations. Saltbush organiser Viv Forbes claims that the United Nations is seeking to cripple western industry with high and unreliable electricity in a “futile attempt to control global climate”.

To learn more about the Saltbush Club please contact:
Viv Forbes (forbes@carbon-sense.com).

Also read a more detailed article in regards to the Saltbush Club available here: http://pickeringpost.com/story/the-saltbush-club/8689

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THE SALTBUSH CLUB, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, WESTERN MINING CORPORATION, UNITED NATIONS

Strong hiring keeps jobless rate at 5pc

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Original article by Sarah Turner, Vesna Poljak
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 16-Nov-18

Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows that 42,300 full-time jobs were created in October, although the economy shed 9,500 part-time jobs. The net gain of 32,800 jobs saw the official unemployment rate remain steady at five per cent. The general consensus of economists had been that 20,000 jobs were created and the jobless rate had risen to 5.1 per cent. Meanwhile, Capital Economics has suggested that the level of full employment in the economy is now likely to be around four per cent rather than five per cent.

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AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS, CAPITAL ECONOMICS LIMITED, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

Health Minister relents on opt-out

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Original article by Sean Parnell
The Australian – Page: 6 : 15-Nov-18

The federal government has announced that consumers will now have until the end of January to opt out of the My Health Record system. The opt-out period had been slated to end on 15 November, after having previously been extended by a month. The 10-week extension will enable the government to make amendments to the My Health Record legislation to address concerns about privacy and security. Labor had sought a 12-month extension of the opt-out period.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF HEALTH, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY