O75 Public Administration

Spotless accused of scam to underpay cleaners

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 7 : 26-Jul-18

United Voice alleges that Spotless Group was part of a conspiracy to cheat cleaning staff at Myer stores out of wages and entitlements. The union has launched legal action against Spotless, claiming that 58 cleaners had been required to register as independent contractors rather than employees. They were therefore not entitled to superannuation or penalty rates, and were paid a flat hourly wage that was below the award rate. Spotless has denied that it had engaged in sham contracting. United Voice is seeking penalties of at least $A1m.

CORPORATES
SPOTLESS GROUP HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX SPO, UNITED VOICE, MYER HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX MYR, INCI CORP PTY LTD, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, MAURICE BLACKBURN PTY LTD

Nine-week campaign might save us: Labor

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 5 : 26-Jul-18

The seats of Longman and Braddon will be the focus of Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Opposition Leader Bill Shorten in the last two days before the by-elections on 28 July. The Liberal Party and Labor agree that the outcome of both by-elections is now too close to call. Meanwhile, a Labor source says the party has benefited from the marathon nine-week election campaign, as its internal polling suggests that Labor would have lost both seats if the election campaign had been shorter.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA

Ignore One Nation at your peril, says Roy

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Original article by Mark Ludlow
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 26-Jul-18

One Nation’s preferences contributed to the Liberal-National Party’s loss of Longman at the 2016 federal election. The minor political party is likely to have an impact on the outcome of the by-election on 28 July, with expectations that it will gain about 20 per cent of the primary vote. Wyatt Roy, who lost the seat to Labor’s Susan Lamb in 2016, says both of the major parties must listen to the concerns of One Nation supporters. He notes that L-NP candidate Trevor Ruthenberg should benefit from One Nation preferences.

CORPORATES
ONE NATION PARTY, LIBERAL-NATIONAL PARTY OF QUEENSLAND, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AFINITI

Inflation keeps RBA’s hands tied

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Original article by Patrick Commins, Vesna Poljak
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 6 : 26-Jul-18

Alex Joiner of IFM Investors says the latest inflation data is "underwhelming". Official figures show that consumer price inflation rose by a below-forecast 0.4 per cent in the June quarter and by 2.1 per cent in the year to June. The underlying inflation rate fell below the lower end of the Reserve Bank’s target range of 2-3 per cent. Justin Smirk of Westpac notes that inflation data has now been below consensus forecasts for a record seventh successive quarter.

CORPORATES
IFM INVESTORS PTY LTD, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, JP MORGAN AUSTRALIA LIMITED, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB

Snowy 2.0 a risk to threatened fauna

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Original article by Joe Kelly
The Australian – Page: 2 : 26-Jul-18

An environmental impact statement has raised concern that the Federal Government’s proposed expansion of the Snowy Hydro scheme could adversely affect the habitat of some endangered species. These include the smoky mouse, the gang-gang cockatoo and the eastern pygmy possum. The EIS notes that measures are being taken to minimise the impact that exploratory work for the Snowy 2.0 project is having on the habitats of at-risk species.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, NEW SOUTH WALES. DEPT OF PLANNING AND ENVIRONMENT. OFFICE OF ENVIRONMENT AND HERITAGE, NEW SOUTH WALES. NATIONAL PARKS AND WILDLIFE SERVICE

Labor move to kill off energy deal

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Original article by Ben Packham
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 26-Jul-18

The Federal Government will require the support of Senate crossbenchers for its national energy guarantee, after Labor signalled that it will oppose the policy even if it is approved by the states and territories. Labor’s energy spokesman Mark Butler has described the NEG’s carbon emissions reduction target as "un­realistic" and warned that the policy will adversely affect jobs and investment in the renewable energy sector. Smart Energy Council CEO John Grimes has expressed similar concerns, while Victorian Energy Policy Centre director Bruce Mountain has questioned the need for the NEG.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, SMART ENERGY COUNCIL, VICTORIAN ENERGY POLICY CENTRE, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY, COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENTS, ONE NATION PARTY, AUSTRALIA. ENERGY SECURITY BOARD, AUSTRALIAN ENERGY MARKET OPERATOR LIMITED

Push to throw out baseless unfair dismissal claims

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Original article by Joe Kelly, Ben Packham
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 25-Jul-18

Changes to the Fair Work Commission’s procedures for dealing with unfair dismissal cases are among the recommendations of a review undertaken by ex-federal small business minister Bruce Billson. Amongst other things, he has recommended earlier intervention by the FWC to reject unfair dismissal claims against small businesses that are deemed to have no merit. Meanwhile, a new report from the Institute of Public Affairs shows that the number of people employed by small businesses in Australia has fallen by seven per cent over a decade.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, INSTITUTE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY, AUSTRALIA. PRODUCTIVITY COMMISSION, CONCEPT WIRE INDUSTRIES

Labor spends up big as leadership pressure builds

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Original article by Mark Ludlow, Andrew Tillett
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 5 : 25-Jul-18

Labor has made spending commitments totalling $155m during campaigning in the seat of Longman, compared with the $44.6m that has been pledged by the Coalition. Likewise, Labor has announced spending measures in excess of $183m in the seat of Braddon, while the Coalition has committed to spending $122.7m. The other three seats in which by-elections will be held on 28 July have attracted significantly fewer spending promises from both sides of politics.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, LIBERAL-NATIONAL PARTY OF QUEENSLAND, ONE NATION PARTY, CENTRE ALLIANCE

Petrol prices to drive inflation higher

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Original article by Patrick Commins
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 25-Jul-18

The median forecast of economists polled by Bloomberg is for consumer price inflation of 0.5 per cent in the June quarter, compared with 0.4 per cent in the March quarter. Australia’s consumer price inflation is forecast to have risen to 2.2 per cent in the year to June, up from 1.9 per cent previously. A sharp rise in the price of petrol in the June quarter is tipped to have been a major contributor to the rise in the inflation rate. Economists do not expect the latest inflation data to have a material impact on the outlook for official interest rates.

CORPORATES
BLOOMBERG LP, AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, SOCIETE GENERALE AUSTRALIA LIMITED, MORGAN STANLEY AUSTRALIA LIMITED, JP MORGAN AUSTRALIA LIMITED

Power price warning to Labor states

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Original article by Ben Packham
The Australian – Page: 1 & 6 : 25-Jul-18

The final version of the Federal Government’s national energy guarantee estimates that the average household’s electricity costs would fall by about $550 a year. Previous modelling had suggested that the NEG would reduce electricity bills by about $A400 a year. Meanwhile, the Energy Security Board has warned Labor-led states that investment in green energy programs will be adversely affected if they do not support the NEG at the upcoming Council of Australian Governments meeting. The ESB also says electricity prices will remain high of the NEG is not implemented.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. ENERGY SECURITY BOARD, COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENTS, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, THE AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY GROUP, AGL ENERGY LIMITED – ASX AGL, TOMAGO ALUMINIUM COMPANY PTY LTD, CLEAN ENERGY COUNCIL LIMITED