O75 Public Administration

Eligibility case to test Morrison minority

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Original article by Rosie Lewis, Ben Packham
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 6-Nov-18

The federal government’s loss of its majority in the House of Representatives means it will require the support of at least one lower house crossbencher to pass bills. However, some crossbenchers have requested access to legal advice on the eligibility of Liberal MP Chris Crewther to be in Parliament, amid speculation that they may seek a motion to have his case referred to the High Court. There are concerns that Crewther’s investment in Gretals Australia may breach the Constitution, given that the pharmaceutical company has benefited from taxpayer-funded research grants.

CORPORATES
LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, GRETALS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIAN RESEARCH COUNCIL, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF HOME AFFAIRS, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, HIGH COURT OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN GREENS

Workers are sick of horrible bosses

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Original article by Anna Patty
The Age – Page: 10 : 2-Nov-18

The Fair Work Commission issued 721 rulings on workplace bullying in 2017-18, compared with just 343 in 2013-14. A survey of more than 600 employees has found that one in three respondents had felt bullied by their boss, while one in four said their boss had made them cry. The survey was conducted by Roy Morgan on behalf of workplace relations consultant firm Employsure. Michael Hyland of law firm LHD Lawyers says employees have become more willing to complain about workplace bullying.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, EMPLOYSURE PTY LTD, LHD LAWYERS – "THE COMPENSATION SPECIALISTS", MAURICE BLACKBURN PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION

Labor flags the end of Work for Dole

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Original article by Eryk Bagshaw
The Age – Page: 8 : 2-Nov-18

Labor’s employment services spokeswoman Terri Butler has queried whether the $65 million spent each year on the "Work for the Dole" program is money well spent. There are claims that the program does not have a high success rate in terms of participants finding jobs, and that participants have been put into unsafe workplaces. As well as signs that Labor may scrap the scheme if it wins the next federal election, there are indications that it may cancel employment services contracts under the federal government’s $7.3 billion Jobactive program.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, NATIONAL EMPLOYMENT SERVICES ASSOCIATION, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF JOBS AND SMALL BUSINESS

Hope mounts for improvement in real wages index

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Original article by Vesna Poljak
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 7 : 2-Nov-18

Australia’s wage price index recorded growth of 2.1 per cent year-on-year in the June quarter. The latest wage price index data, to be released on 14 November, will attract close scrutiny after inflation rose by 0.4 per cent in the September quarter and 1.9 per in the year to September. David Bassanese of Betashares notes that the wage price index data for the September quarter will be affected by the 3.5 per cent increase in the minimum wage that took effect at the start of July.

CORPORATES
BETASHARES CAPITAL LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB

Coalition MP on brink

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Original article by James Campbell
Herald Sun – Page: 1 & 6 : 2-Nov-18

Liberal MP Chris Crewther could be referred to the High Court over concerns that his investment in pharmaceutical company Gretals Australia may breach Section 44 of the Constitution. Gretals has received direct grants from the federal government, as well as linkage grants. Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton has also been under scrutiny over claims that his pecuniary interest in a childcare centre may breach the Constitution. The federal government would have 74 seats in the lower house if Crewther is disqualified.

CORPORATES
LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, GRETALS AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF HOME AFFAIRS, HIGH COURT OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Legacy war: Turnbull threat to haunt ScoMo

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Original article by Simon Benson, Primrose Riordan, Ben Packham
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 2-Nov-18

Tensions between Prime Minister Scott Morrison and predecessor Malcolm Turnbull have increased in the wake of the latter’s recent visit to Indonesia. Morrison was forced to retract comments he made in a radio interview on 1 November; he said that Turnbull had not been asked to discuss trade and the possible relocation of Australia’s embassy in Israel during meetings with Indonesian officials, but Turnbull responded by stating that he had been asked to do so. Turnbull has also signalled that he will publicly defen­d his record as prime minister. Liberal Party of Victoria president Michael Kroger has called on Morrison and Turnbull to present a unified front.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, LIBERAL PARTY OF VICTORIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF HOME AFFAIRS, HIGH COURT OF AUSTRALIA

Stubbornly low inflation confounds RBA

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

Official data shows that Australia’s headline inflation rate fell to 1.9 per cent in the year to September, compared with 2.1 per cent in the year to June. The underlying inflation rate has fallen to 1.7 per cent. The CPI figures show that an increase in the cost of utilities, tobacco and petrol in the September quarter was offset by a 12 per cent decline in childcare costs following changes to federal subsidies. Despite the fact that inflation is now below the Reserve Bank’s target range of 2-3 per cent, most economists do not expect an increase in official interest rates until at least the end of 2019.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, CAPITAL ECONOMICS LIMITED, HSBC AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS PTY LTD

Westacott pleads for Hawke-era ACTU mindset

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 6 : 1-Nov-18

Business Council of Australia CEO Jennifer Westacott has rejected the ACTU’s push for industry-wide enterprise bargaining. She says it is unworkable and would disadvantage people in regional areas and unskilled workers. Westacott argues that the nation needs a modern industrial relations system that is based on enterprise or workplace-level bargaining, and underpinned by a universal safety net. However, she has invited the ACTU’s leadership to work with business to ensure that the IR system is appropriate for a modern work environment.

CORPORATES
BUSINESS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, ACTU, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

AWU misused strike rights for ACTU protests

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 11 : 31-Oct-18

The Australian Workers’ Union served Alcoa with a notice of indefinite work stoppages at its Western Australia refineries earlier in October. The industrial action was slated to commence the day before the ACTU began a series of national protests. AWU delegate Stuart Allen has told the Fair Work Commission that the timing was "good luck", but it has emerged that he send text messages to union members stating that the protected industrial action was in support of the ACTU campaign. The FWC ruled that the AWU’s representatives were not genuinely trying to collectively bargain.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN WORKERS’ UNION-FEDERATION OF INDUSTRIAL, MANUFACTURING AND ENGINEERING EMPLOYEES, ALCOA INCORPORATED, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, ACTU

Australia most exposed to a downturn

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Original article by John Kehoe
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 31-Oct-18

Morgan Stanley has warned that Australia is at greater risk of an economic downturn than other Group of 10 nations due to rising household debt. The household debt-to-income ratio in Australia has risen to nearly 200 per cent amid the surge in house prices in recent years. Meanwhile, although house prices have fallen over the last 12 months, the Reserve Bank’s assistant governor Michele Bullock says a regulatory crackdown on lending to investors has not resulted in a significant downturn in the property market.

CORPORATES
MORGAN STANLEY AUSTRALIA LIMITED, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, HSBC AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS PTY LTD, DELOITTE ACCESS ECONOMICS PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY