O75 Public Administration

Unemployment at 10% in July highest in nearly a year

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 13-Aug-18

A Roy Morgan survey shows that 12,021,000 Australians were employed in July, up 167,000 over the past year. The increase was driven by growth in both full-time employment (which was up 66,000 to 7,765,000) and an even stronger increase in part-time employment (up 101,000 to 4,256,000). The figures also show that 1,329,000 Australians were unemployed (10% of the workforce) in July, an increase of 93,000 (up 0.6%) on a year ago. In addition, 1,148,000 Australians (8.6% of the workforce) are now under-employed, working part-time and looking for more work, a fall of 78,000 in a year (down 0.8%). Roy Morgan’s real unemployment figure of 10% for July remains substantially higher than the current ABS estimate for June 2018 of 5.4%. Roy Morgan CEO Michele Levine says the increasing casualisation of the Australian workforce has strengthened in recent years with the rise of the so-called "gig" economy, but Foodora’s impeding exit from the Australian market shows that there are limits to this type of employment model when regulatory and competition considerations are taken into account. Foodora’s exit also signifies how important it is for governments to create sensible industrial relations laws that encourage employers to take on new workers rather than penalise employers looking to grow their business.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS

Hydrogen industry to future-proof coal

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Original article by Simon Benson
The Australian – Page: 4 : 10-Aug-18

Chief Scientist Alan Finkel will make recommendations on the development of a hydrogen energy industry in Australia to federal and state energy ministers. He will advise that the cheapest way to produce hydrogen energy is via the gasification of brown coal. However, the process must involve carbon capture and storage if it is to be a viable source of renewable energy. Finkel’s hydrogen strategy is backed by both the renewable energy and mining sectors. Minerals Council of Australia CEO Tania Constable says it could mean a new industry for Victoria’s Latrobe Valley, which has been impacted by the closure of the Hazelwood power station.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. OFFICE OF THE CHIEF SCIENTIST, MINERALS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENTS

Victoria digs in on bare minimum NEG demands

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 6 : 10-Aug-18

Federal Energy Minister Josh Frydenberg will meet with his state counterparts on 10 August to discuss ratifying the National Energy Guarantee. Victoria’s Energy Minister Lily D’Ambrosio says Frydenberg needs to be prepared to compromise with Labor states on the NEG if they are to agree to it. Victoria’s conditions for agreeing to the NEG include that its renewable emission targets will never go backwards and that future targets are to be set every three years.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY, VICTORIA. DEPT OF ENVIRONMENT, LAND, WATER AND PLANNING, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, AUSTRALIA. ENERGY SECURITY BOARD

Howard urges action on unfinished IR reform

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 9-Aug-18

Ex-prime minister John Howard has highlighted the contribution that his government’s commitment to industrial relations reform had on wages growth and the labour market. In a recent address at a private dinner, Howard expressed concern about the lack of government action on workplace reform in recent years, and urged the Coalition to take more action on the issue. Howard praised the Coalition for reinstating the Australian Building & Construction Commission, but argued that further workplace reform is needed.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION COMMISSION, AUSTRALIAN MINES AND METALS ASSOCIATION (INCORPORATED), AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INDUSTRY, INNOVATION AND SCIENCE, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FINANCE, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, ACTU, PATRICK CORPORATION LIMITED

Shorten calls for states, feds to do NEG deal

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 6 : 9-Aug-18

Federal Opposition Leader Bill Shorten has urged Labor-led states to support the national energy guarantee at the Council of Australian Governments meeting on 10 August. The Victorian government maintains that the NEG’s carbon emissions reduction target should be subject to regulation rather than legislation, which is the federal government’s preferred approach. The federal Labor party supports the NEG, although it is advocating a higher emissions reduction target than that proposed by the Coalition.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENTS, VICTORIA. DEPT OF ENVIRONMENT, LAND, WATER AND PLANNING, VICTORIA. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, GETUP LIMITED

Fels backs Greens’ bank-breaker bid

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Original article by Adam Creighton
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 9-Aug-18

Former Australian Competition & Consumer Commission chairman Allan Fels has expressed support for the Greens’ proposal to break up the nation’s largest banks and wealth manager AMP. Fels said he has been surprised by the extent of unethical behaviour in the financial services sector that has been exposed by the banking royal commission. He also says there may be merit in the Greens’ proposal to shift responsibility for regulating the sector to the ACCC, arguing that it has been more effective at enforcing the law than ASIC.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO MISCONDUCT IN THE BANKING, SUPERANNUATION AND FINANCIAL SERVICES INDUSTRY, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, AMP LIMITED – ASX AMP, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, DEUTSCHE BANK AG, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB

Greens on mission to break up the banks

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Original article by Adam Creighton
The Australian – Page: 8 : 8-Aug-18

Australian Greens leader Richard Di Natale says action is needed to address the "toxic culture" within the banking sector that has arisen due to the vertical integration model. The Greens propose to limit financial services groups to one of four roles, such as traditional banking services or asset management. Greens senator Peter Whish-Wilson advocates breaking up the banks, arguing that financial complexity has benefited the sector much more than consumers.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN GREENS, AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO MISCONDUCT IN THE BANKING, SUPERANNUATION AND FINANCIAL SERVICES INDUSTRY, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, AUSTRALIA. PRODUCTIVITY COMMISSION, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, AMP LIMITED – ASX AMP

Cormann full throttle on company tax cuts

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Original article by Rosie Lewis
The Australian – Page: 6 : 8-Aug-18

The Federal Government has signalled that it will seek passage of its full company tax cuts package through the Senate by 23 August. Finance Minister Mathias Cormann is said to still be holding talks with One Nation and Centre Alliance regarding the tax package. He has ruled out imposing a revenue cap of $500m on the tax cuts, although he may be open to fast-tracking tax cuts for smaller companies.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FINANCE, ONE NATION PARTY, CENTRE ALLIANCE, LIBERAL DEMOCRATIC PARTY

MP’s support for coal spot on

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Original article by Greg Brown
The Australian – Page: 6 : 8-Aug-18

Whitehaven Coal CEO Paul Flynn has welcomed comments made by Labor MP Meryl Swanson in support of coal-fired power generation using low-emissions technology. Swanson recently toured high energy, low emissions power stations in Japan as part of a bipartisan delegation. Flynn says Australia should consider the construction of such power stations, noting that Japan accounts for about 60 per cent of Whitehaven’s thermal coal exports. However, Labor’s energy spokesman Mark Butler says HELE power stations are expensive to build and they produce more carbon emissions that gas-fired power stations.

CORPORATES
WHITEHAVEN COAL LIMITED – ASX WHC, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INDUSTRY, INNOVATION AND SCIENCE, COAL21, MINERALS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA

Feds could compromise on NEG target review

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 8-Aug-18

Federal Government sources have indicated that the Coalition may be open to allowing its carbon emissions reduction target to be reviewed earlier than 2024, in order to secure support for the national energy guarantee. Labor wants the emissions target to be reviewed well before this date, and it advocates holding the reviews every three years. Labor also favours allowing the emissions reduction target to be changed via regulation, but the government is refusing to back down on its requirement that changes can only be made via legislation.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, CENTRE ALLIANCE, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, VICTORIA. DEPT OF ENVIRONMENT, LAND, WATER AND PLANNING