O75 Public Administration

ALP’s property-tax hit may be imposed as early as July

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Original article by Rosie Lewis
The Australian – Page: 1 & 6 : 25-Oct-18

Shadow treasurer Chris Bowen has defended Labor’s proposed negative gearing and capital gains tax reforms, amid concern about their impact on dwelling construction. He says modelling commissioned by Master Builders Australia is flawed as it does not take into account the fact that negative gearing changes will be "grandfathered". MBA CEO Denita Wawn argues that the grandfathering provisions will have no effect on future investment decisions. Sources have indicated that a Labor government would implement the negative gearing reforms from July 2020, and possibly a year earlier if the federal election is called before the end of 2018.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, MASTER BUILDERS AUSTRALIA INCORPORATED, STOCKLAND – ASX SGP, PROPERTY COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED, HOUSING INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION LIMITED, CADENCE ECONOMICS PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY

Treasury in warning on saving raids

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Original article by Michael Roddan
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 25-Oct-18

Australia’s household savings rate fell to one per cent in June, compared with 2.5 per cent one year earlier. Treasury secretary Phil Gaetjens has told the Senate economics committee that it is likely to fall further as low wages growth forces consumers to use more of their savings. Treasury expects economic growth to continue to be bolstered by consumer spending, but Alan Oster of National Australia Bank says the bank’s own data indicates that consumer spending is not as strong as official figures suggest. Meanwhile, independent economist Saul Eslake says falling asset prices are likely to prompt consumers to reduce their spending.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB

Obama, Clinton among those targeted in attempted US bombings

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Original article by Neil Frankland
The New Daily – Page: Online : 25-Oct-18

President Donald Trump has vowed that those responsible for a series of attempted bomb attacks on a number of prominent individuals will be brought to justice. The homes of former US presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama are said to have been among the targets, while others include former CIA director John Brennan and New York Mayor Bill de Blasio. CNN’s building in Manhattan was also targeted with what are believed to have been pipe bombs, prompting the building’s evacuation.

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UNITED STATES. EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT, UNITED STATES. CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY, CNN

Wentworth by-election means death of cheap robo-polling & leaked private party polls!

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Original article by Gary Morgan, Michele Levine, Julian McCrann
Morgan Poll Analysis – Page: Online : 25-Oct-18

Roy Morgan CEO Michele Levine two days before the Wentworth by-election on Sky News’ new political show "Conroy & Kroger" when asked why she was so critical of cheap polls said: "They may be cheaper, but I can’t really see any point in doing a poll that is going to get the wrong answer. And this is not, as somebody was saying earlier, about people not wanting to tell the truth or in fact lying when they get polled, it’s not that at all, it’s just that these modern new silly ways of polling which are either robo-polls or telephone polls which only get a small proportion of the population or online polls with commercial panels of people who volunteer to be part of it, they only get a really small piece of the population." A stunning example is provided by the Greenpeace ReachTel robo-poll results which last week was reported on by Carly Earl for the Guardian prior to the Wentworth by-election. The Greenpeace ReachTel robo-poll primary vote predictions were significantly in error for several of the leading candidates. Out by more than 10% for Liberal Dave Sharma and ALP candidate Tim Murray and out by more than 3% for the two Independent candidates Kerryn Phelps and Licia Heath. The ReachTel robo-poll’s prediction for the critical two candidate preferred result was even further out. Not only did the two-candidate preferred result compound the error made by being over 10% out on the primary vote for Liberal candidate Dave Sharma and ALP candidate Tim Murray but the preference flows were a further source of error and meant the poll was completely wrong when predicting the two-candidate preferred result between Phelps and Sharma. For the full analysis and video of Roy Morgan CEO Michele Levine’s appearance on Conroy & Kroger click through here.

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ROY MORGAN LIMITED, GREENPEACE, REACHTEL PTY LTD, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, SKY NEWS

Maximum penalty call over blockade

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Original article by Charlie Peel
The Australian – Page: 2 : 24-Oct-18

The Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining & Energy Union faces a fine of up to $33,000 for each break of workplace laws arising from the blockading of Brisbane building sites in 2012. CFMMEU official Michael Ravbar in turn could be fined up to $6,600 for each breach. The Australian Building & Construction Commission has urged the Federal Court to impose the maximum penalty on Ravbar, while it is also seeking to have him banned from entering workplaces.

CORPORATES
CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MARITIME, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION COMMISSION, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, UNIVERSAL CRANES PTY LTD

Cut power bills by new year or else

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 24-Oct-18

The Business Council of Australia has warned that some of the federal government’s proposed measures to put downward pressure on electricity prices could create investment uncertainty. Amongst other things, energy retailers will be required to offer default price contracts from mid-2019, while energy companies could be forced to divest assets if they fail to take sufficient action. The government also proposes to underwrite investment in new reliable energy sources. Prime Minister Scott Morrison says reducing electricity prices and cutting carbon emissions are not mutually exclusive.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, BUSINESS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN ENERGY COUNCIL, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY, VICTORIA. DEPT OF ENVIRONMENT, LAND, WATER AND PLANNING, AUSTRALIAN ENERGY REGULATOR, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION

ANZ-Roy Morgan Australian Consumer Confidence plunges to 112.3

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 24-Oct-18

ANZ-Roy Morgan Australian Consumer Confidence fell 6% to 112.3 in the week ended 21 October, closing just below its long-term average and at its lowest level for more than a year. All components of the survey fell sharply. Households’ views towards current financial conditions fell by 7.1%, while sentiment regarding the future financial situation fell by 3.4%. Sentiment towards current economic conditions fell by 5.4%, while sentiment towards future economic conditions fell by 6.5%. The "time to buy a household item" sub-index fell by 7.8%.

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

Labor risks $12bn housing hit

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Original article by Simon Benson
The Australian – Page: 1 & 6 : 24-Oct-18

Independent modelling by Cadence Economics has examined the likely impact of Labor’s proposed negative gearing and capital gains tax reforms on the residential property market. It concludes that the policy could result in new dwelling commencements falling by between 10,000 and 42,000 over a five-year period. This would in turn reduce construction activity by up to $12bn over this period and result in between 7,500 and 32,000 fewer jobs in the sector. Master Builders Australia CEO Denita Wawn notes that housing approvals have peaked since Labor announced its policy two years ago.

CORPORATES
CADENCE ECONOMICS PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, MASTER BUILDERS AUSTRALIA INCORPORATED, AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS

Voters will clip cocky Labor’s wings: Pyne

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Original article by Michael Owen, Luke Griffiths
The Australian – Page: 4 : 24-Oct-18

Defence Minister Christopher Pyne has accused Labor of being overconfident about its chances of winning the next federal election. Pyne holds the seat of Sturt in South Australia with a margin of 5.9 per cent. However, Labor senator Don Farrell believes that Pyne’s chances of retaining the seat have been significantly reduced following the ousting of former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull, who was popular in Sturt. Meanwhile, counting of votes in the Wentworth by-election is continuing; independent candidate Kerryn Phelps had 51.05% of the vote on a two-party preferred basis at 3.3pm on Tuesday.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF DEFENCE, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews led union protest that closed Melbourne city streets

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Original article by Christiane Barro, AAP
The New Daily – Page: Online : 24-Oct-18

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews led a "Change the Rules" protest rally organised by the ACTU to demand higher wages that closed Melbourne city streets on Tuesday. The ACTU estimated more than 170,000 protesters joined the rally in Melbourne with other rallies being held in Sydney, Darwin and several regional cities around Australia. Protesters claimed Australian IR laws are "terribly broken" and that the laws mean workers are "Open to slave labour" and "They’re stealing our wages". ACTU Secretary Sally McManus claimed "Our standard of living is going backwards. That should not be happening. A small disruption for a couple of hours is worth it." McManus also said that the minimum wage of $37,000 per annum is "Not enough to support yourself". The Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry disagreed with the ACTU and warned that the march was "really about putting power in the hands of big unions and disempowering employees".

CORPORATES
VICTORIA. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET, ACTU, AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY