O75 Public Administration

Barnaby’s coal plan powers up detractors

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Original article by Ean Higgins
The Australian – Page: 5 : 16-Oct-18

National Party MP Keith Pitt has questioned the viability of the federal government’s Snowy Hydro expansion plan. He argues that investing in coal-fired power stations may be a better option if Snowy 2.0’s cost per megawatt hour is very high. The issue of energy policy has come under renewed scrutiny after former deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce advocated coal-fired power in preference to Snowy 2.0. However, the University of Queensland’s Professor Tor Hundloe says pumped hydro is much more cost-effective than coal-fired power generation.

CORPORATES
NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, UNIVERSITY OF QUEENSLAND

ALP looks to loosen reins on strike action

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 4 : 16-Oct-18

Labor is understood to be planning changes to the Fair Work Act to make it easier for workers and unions to undertake sector-wide pay claims. However, to ease employers’ concerns over the prospect of allowing industry-wide industrial action, Labor is believed to be considering giving the Fair Work Commission more powers to stop or cease industrial action where a number of companies are being targeted. University of Adelaide law professor Andrew Stewart says it would seem reasonable to allow industry-wide bargaining in sectors where enterprise bargaining is not easy to access.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, UNIVERSITY OF ADELAIDE, ACTU

PM open to embassy in Jerusalem

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Original article by Simon Benson
The Australian – Page: 1 & 5 : 16-Oct-18

Prime Minister Scott Morrison will announce closer defence relations with Israel in a foreign policy statement to be released on 16 October. He has also indicated that the federal government may consider relocating Australia’s embassy from Tel Aviv to West Jerusalem, adding that the issue has been raised in a meeting of cabinet’s national security committee. Morrison has stressed that the government’s stance on Israel is not linked to the by-election in the seat of Wentworth, which has a large Jewish community.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, UNITED STATES. EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT

Budget could balance this financial year

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 6 : 15-Oct-18

Finance Minister Mathias Cormann has indicated that the Budget bottom line was $6.6bn ahead of expectations in the first two months of 2018-19. The federal government has forecast a Budget deficit of $14.5bn for 2018-19, and the deficit was $8.9bn for the 12 months to 31 August. The government expects to achieve a surplus in 2019-20, but economist Chris Richardson says it could potentially do so in 2018-19. However, he says this will depend on the health of the economy and spending restraint by the government.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FINANCE, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Inflation Expectations unchanged for a third straight month in September

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 15-Oct-18

Australians aged +14 expect inflation of 4.3% per year over the next two years, according to the Roy Morgan Inflation Expectations Index for September 2018. This is unchanged for the third straight month, but down 0.1% from September 2017. Inflation Expectations have now tracked in a narrow range between 4.3-4.5% for 15 straight months. Inflation Expectations remain well below the eight-year average of 5.0%. Analysis by generation compared to a year ago shows that Inflation Expectations are down for Millennials, Generation Z and Pre-Boomers, unchanged for Baby Boomers and up significantly for Generation X. September Inflation Expectations are based on a nationwide face-to-face survey of 4,304 Australians aged 14+.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED

Don’t vote for Libs: Turnbull’s son

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Original article by Andrew Clennell
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 12-Oct-18

Alex Turnbull has urged voters in Wentworth not to vote for the Liberal Party at the upcoming by-election. The son of former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull claims that the Liberal Party has been taken over by the "hard right", and that voters need to send a message to the federal government on climate change. Liberal candidate Dave Sharma is regarded as slightly ahead of independent candidate Dr Kerryn Phelps in polling. The government needs to win the by-election to retain its one-seat majority in the House of Representatives.

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

No targets, Taylor warns states

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Original article by Michael Roddan
The Australian – Page: 8 : 12-Oct-18

Federal Energy Minister Angus Taylor says Australia is on track to achieve a 26 per cent reduction in carbon emissions by 2030. He says a priority now is to stabilise the national electricity grid, and with this in mind he intends to push for the states and territories to support a "reliability obligation" at the upcoming Council of Australian Governments’ meeting. Taylor also said the states should not press for the adoption of an emissions target at the meeting, arguing that it would only be necessary if Australia sought to reduce emissions by more than 26 per cent.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY, COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENTS, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. ENERGY SECURITY BOARD

Labor flags flip on small biz tax cuts

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 12-Oct-18

Federal Opposition Leader Bill Shorten has signalled that Labor remains open to backing legislation to bring forward tax cuts for small and medium enterprises. He says a prerequisite would be that there is no impact on government funding for hospitals and schools. The tax cuts for businesses with turnover of up to $50m have already been legislated, but the federal government wants to reduce the tax rate to 25 per cent in 2021-22 rather than 2026-27.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FINANCE, CENTRE ALLIANCE, AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY, BUSINESS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA

Shorten to shake up bank super

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Original article by Simon Benson, Rosie Lewis
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 12-Oct-18

Labor leader Bill Shorten has indicated that bank-owned superannuation funds could face tougher regulation under a Labor government. Noting the inherent of conflict of interests associated with profit-focused banks owning retail super funds, he said that one option could be a requirement that such funds appoint independent trustees. He also flagged the possibility of empowering the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority to sack trustees of super funds that consistently underperform.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE. INSTITUTE OF APPLIED ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL RESEARCH, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FINANCE, AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY, ONE NATION PARTY, CENTRE ALLIANCE

Fines a reminder of ACTU rally penalties

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 4 : 11-Oct-18

The Federal Court has fined 75 construction workers $1,400 apiece for engaging in unlawful industrial action in Perth in 2013. Stephen McBurney, the head of the Australian Building and Construction Commission, says the fines are a "timely reminder" of the consequences of breaching workplace laws. The ABCC recently warned that building workers who participate in upcoming union rallies without written approval from their employee could potentially be prosecuted.

CORPORATES
FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION COMMISSION, CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MARITIME, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, ACTU, WORKPAC PTY LTD, SAS GROUP, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF JOBS AND SMALL BUSINESS