O75 Public Administration

Industrial ‘anarchy’: MP warns

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Original article by Dana McCauley
The Age – Page: 1 : 23-Oct-18

Employer groups estimate that the ACTU’s "Change the Rules" rallies will cost $250 million in lost productivity. Meanwhile, Industrial Relations Minister Kelly O’Dwyer claims that the ACTU is inciting union members to break the law, and that Australia faces a "bleak future" if a Labor government changes industrial relations laws to please the ACTU. The peak union body contends that the rallies should be viewed as political protests rather than industrial action.

CORPORATES
ACTU, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF JOBS AND SMALL BUSINESS, THE AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY GROUP, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA

McGowan threat to unruly Nationals

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 23-Oct-18

Independent MP Cathy McGowan has signalled that she may not continue to support the federal government on confidence and supply if there is a change of leadership at the National Party. McGowan has warned that her constituents in rural Victoria would not welcome more leadership turmoil in Canberra. The future of Nationals leader Michael McCormack has been under scrutiny, amid speculation that he may face a challenge from predecessor Barnaby Joyce.

CORPORATES
NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

Jobs figures catch up with economic reality

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Original article by Patrick Commins
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 33 : 23-Oct-18

Australia’s unemployment rate fell from 5.3 per cent to five per cent in seasonally adjusted terms in September, but in reality the official jobless figure was merely moving into alignment with "shadow" labour market indicators. Macquarie Group economist Justin Fabo expects the unemployment rate to be just below five per cent at the end of 2019, while he estimates that a full employment rate in Australia equates to a jobless rate of about 4.5 per cent. Meanwhile, the majority of "shadow" indicators, including Roy Morgan’s household survey, point towards an inflection higher in the official jobless rate.

CORPORATES
MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, ROY MORGAN LIMITED, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

Morrison in bid for unity on energy

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Original article by Joe Kelly, Ben Packham
The Australian – Page: 1 & 6 : 23-Oct-18

The federal government will establish a price benchmark for electricity retailers, which was a key recommendation of the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission’s review of electricity prices. The "default market offer" rate will take effect from mid-2019, and is part of the government’s commitment to reducing power bills. Meanwhile, National Party MP Keith Pitt rejects suggestions that the Coalition’s climate change policy was the main cause of its poor performance in the Wentworth by-election.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. OFFICE OF THE CHIEF SCIENTIST, AUSTRALIAN ENERGY REGULATOR, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INDUSTRY, INNOVATION AND SCIENCE

Libs millions shy in campaign fighting funds

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Original article by Andrew Clennell
The Australian – Page: 7 : 23-Oct-18

The Liberal Party is estimated to have spent about $1m on contesting the Wentworth by-election, while independent candidate Kerryn Phelps is believed to have had a campaign budget of about $300,000. Sources within the Liberal Party have indicated that it is still well short of the campaign funding target it requires for the 2019 federal election, following a number of other by-elections in recent months. Phelps holds a 1,626-vote lead over Liberal candidate Dave Sharma, with 51.11% of the vote on a two-party preferred basis at 6pm on Monday. Phelps has ruled out claiming victory until all votes are counted.

CORPORATES
LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA

Counting the costs of ACTU’s campaign

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Original article by Samantha Hutchinson
The Australian – Page: 2 : 22-Oct-18

Masters Builders Australia estimates that a six-day campaign of industrial action by unions will have a direct and indirect cost to the national economy of up to $250m. Unions forecast that rallies to be held in Sydney and Melbourne will be attended by up to 150,000 workers in each city, and the Australian Chamber of Commerce & Industry warns that this could result in the loss of some 450,000 working hours and 50,000 working days. Rallies will be held in Melbourne, Sydney, Darwin and six regional cities on 23 October, as part of the ACTU’s "Change The Rules" campaign.

CORPORATES
MASTER BUILDERS AUSTRALIA INCORPORATED, AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY, ACTU, AUSTRALIAN MINES AND METALS ASSOCIATION (INCORPORATED), AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK OMBUDSMAN, AUSTRALIAN BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION COMMISSION, DELOITTE ACCESS ECONOMICS PTY LTD, PATRICK STEVEDORES HOLDINGS PTY LTD

Kerryn Phelps expected to win Wentworth by-election although about 4000 postal votes still to be counted

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 22-Oct-18

Independent candidate Kerryn Phelps is expected to win a close Wentworth by-election – although as Roy Morgan CEO Michele Levine said two days before the by-election, when asked who would win on Sky News: "Nobody would know!" At 7pm Sunday night the two-party preferred result was 51.1% for Phelps v 48.9% for the Liberals’ Dave Sharma. Sharma had 36,093 votes on a two-party basis while Phelps had 37,719, a difference of 1,626. The Liberals were gaining about 63.56% of postal votes already counted on a two-party basis, with 528 postal vote envelopes received but not processed. However, about 4,000 postal votes are yet to be returned to the Australian Electoral Commission. The Wentworth result rewrites the record books, with an 18 per cent swing against the Liberal Party on a two-party-preferred basis. Before Saturday night, the biggest 2PP swing recorded in by-elections since 1949 was in 1995 when the Liberals won the seat of Canberra – a 16.1 per cent swing.

CORPORATES
LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA

Ex-union boss backs govt on casual pay

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Original article by Dana McCauley, Anna Patty
The Age – Page: 24 : 19-Oct-18

Industrial Relations Minister Kelly O’Dwyer will make an application to join the Commonwealth as a party to a Federal Court test case on the paid leave entitlements of casual workers. The WorkPac case has prompted concern that casual employees would be entitled to both a casual loading and paid leave. The ACTU has warned that the test case presents a risk to the job security of every permanent employee, but the peak union body’s former president Martin Ferguson says that allowing casuals to "double dip" is contrary to long-established industrial relations rules.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF JOBS AND SMALL BUSINESS, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, WORKPAC PTY LTD, ACTU, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO

Jobless rate at lowest in seven years

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Original article by Michael Roddan, Geoff Chambers
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 19-Oct-18

Australia’s headline unemployment rate fell from 5.3 per cent to five per cent in September, while the trend rate was steady at 5.2 per cent. The Reserve Bank had forecast that the jobless rate would fall to five per cent by the end of 2020, and the latest figures have prompted speculation that it may begin tightening monetary policy sooner than expected. However, Craig James of the Commonwealth Bank does not expect it to take action while the official underemployment rate is 8.3 per cent. Meanwhile, Paul Dales of Capital Economics says a significant increase in wages may be dependent on the jobless rate falling to around four per cent.

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, CAPITAL ECONOMICS LIMITED, AMP CAPITAL INVESTORS LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF JOBS AND SMALL BUSINESS, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, NOMURA AUSTRALIA LIMITED

Job market dries up for low-skilled employees

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Original article by Anna Patty
The Sydney Morning Herald – Page: 18 : 18-Oct-18

Anglicare has released a report which notes that low-skilled entry-level jobs accounted for just 26,000 of the 185,662 vacancies that were advertised across Australia in May. The report adds that almost 111,000 people are competing for the limited number of entry-level jobs. This equates to an average of four people nationwide, although Anglicare notes that it is much higher in South Australia and Tasmania. Anglicare’s executive director Kasy Chambers says low-skilled, entry-level jobs are "slowly disappearing".

CORPORATES
ANGLICARE AUSTRALIA