O75 Public Administration

No state worse off in GST shake-up: PM

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

The Federal Government will shortly release its response to the Productivity Commission’s report on the distribution of goods and services tax revenue. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has stressed that no state will be disadvantaged by any change in the methodology for allocating GST revenue. The government is expected to compensate states for any loss of revenue during the transition to a new GST distribution formula; economist Saul Eslake says clarification is needed regarding the compensation plan.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. PRODUCTIVITY COMMISSION, VICTORIA. DEPT OF TREASURY AND FINANCE, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Shorten, Swan sharpen class warfare attacks

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Original article by Tom McIlroy, Michael Bailey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 2-Jul-18

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten has committed to reversing weekend penalty rate cuts within 100 days of taking office if Labor wins the next election. Penalty rate cuts in sectors such as retailing took effect on 1 July. However, Council of Small Business Organisations CEO Peter Strong argues that many large retailers already have lower penalty rates under enterprise agreements that were negotiated by unions. Meanwhile, Labor’s national president Wayne Swan has defended Shorten’s stance on reversing company tax cuts, but concedes that he should not have announced the policy before consulting with the shadow cabinet.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, COUNCIL OF SMALL BUSINESS ORGANISATIONS OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, AUSTRALIA. OFFICE OF THE AUSTRALIAN SMALL BUSINESS AND FAMILY ENTERPRISE OMBUDSMAN, COLES SUPERMARKETS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, WOOLWORTHS SUPERMARKETS, McDONALD’S AUSTRALIA LIMITED

Rule Britannia as UK design wins $35b frigate deal

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Original article by Andrew Tillett
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 9 : 29-Jun-18

The federal government has selected UK-based BAE Systems to build Australia’s new frigates. BAE secured the $A35 billion contract ahead of Italy’s Fincantieri and Spanish company Navantia. The frigates will be known as the Hunter class and are expected to enter service in the late 2020s. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has indicated that the frigate program will create 4,000 jobs, while BAE has stated that the frigates will feature up to 70 per cent Australian content.

CORPORATES
BAE SYSTEMS PLC, FINCANTIERI CANTIERI NAVALI ITALIANI SPA, NAVANTIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF DEFENCE, AUSTAL LIMITED – ASX ASB, ASC PTY LTD

KPMG review into bungled census ‘compromised’, says whistleblower

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman, Edmund Tadros
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 29-Jun-18

Harmers Workplace Lawyers is taking legal action against KPMG and three of its senior executives on behalf of former associate director James Eldridge. KPMG has been accused of taking adverse action against Eldridge; he was dismissed as a result of complaints he made about KPMG’s review of the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ IT systems following the flawed 2016 census. Eldridge is said to have told KPMG that he felt that the review was not accurate or independent. KPMG has denied his allegations, and has stated that his dismissal was for "appropriate reasons".

CORPORATES
KPMG AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, HARMERS WORKPLACE LAWYERS, AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS, DELOITTE TOUCHE TOHMATSU LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

Toughened laws take a bite from Apple and co

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Original article by Adam Creighton, Andrew White
The Australian – Page: 1 & 6 : 29-Jun-18

Microsoft, Google, Facebook, and Apple collectively paid Australian taxes of $A616 million in the most recent financial year. This represents an increase of 160 per cent over the previous corresponding period. Anthony Ting from the University of Sydney says the Multinational Anti-Avoidance Law appears to have resulted in the large US technology firms booking more of their revenue in Australia. However, he believes that there is scope for more tax to be recovered from them.

CORPORATES
MICROSOFT CORPORATION, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, APPLE INCORPORATED, UNIVERSITY OF SYDNEY, AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE, KPMG AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, ONE NATION PARTY

Divided Labor to test Shorten

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Original article by Ben Packham
The Australian – Page: 1 & 6 : 29-Jun-18

Some members of the shadow cabinet are expected to urge Opposition Leader Bill Shorten to back down on his plan to reverse company tax cuts at a meeting on 29 June, amid a growing internal rift over the issue. Meanwhile, Finance Minister Mathias Cormann has advised that the Federal Government will not pursue its full company tax cuts package in the Senate until after the five upcoming by-elections, which he says will be a referendum on Shorten’s tax policy. Shorten in turn has accused the Coalition of having a secret deal with One Nation to pass the tax package after the by-elections.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FINANCE, ONE NATION PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. PARLIAMENTARY BUDGET OFFICE

GST crackdown looms for online sales

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Original article by Nick Tabakoff
The Australian – Page: 7 : 28-Jun-18

The goods and services tax will apply to purchases of up to $A1,000 via overseas-based online marketplaces from 1 July. The Australian Taxation Office has signalled that it will use all of the tools at its disposal to ensure that multinational e-commerce groups comply with the new GST rules, including targeted audits and financial penalties. The ATO’s Tim Dyce says that about 3,200 international online marketplaces will have to be registered to collect and remit GST when the changes take effect.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE, HARVEY NORMAN HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX HVN, AMAZON.COM INCORPORATED, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED

Let voters decide on migration: Hanson

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Original article by Joe Kelly
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 28-Jun-18

One Nation leader Pauline Hanson wants a plebiscite on the issue of immigration, arguing that the general public has had no input into Australia’s migrant intake. Hanson intends to introduce a bill when federal parliament resumes in August, and says any such plebiscite should be held in conjunction with the next election rather than via a postal ballot. Several Coalition MPs have called for a reduction in the annual migrant intake, including former prime minister Tony Abbott and Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton.

CORPORATES
ONE NATION PARTY, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF HOME AFFAIRS, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND TRADE, LOWY INSTITUTE FOR INTERNATIONAL POLICY, AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS

Caltex franchisee fined over false pay records

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Original article by Anna Patty
The Sydney Morning Herald – Page: 24 : 28-Jun-18

The Federal Circuit Court has ordered former Caltex petrol station franchise operator Aulion to pay fines totalling $A80,190 for falsifying its employees’ wage records. The franchise’s owner Peter Dagher in turn has been fined $A16,038. The service station at Five Docks in Sydney is one of 15 that were investigated by the Fair Work Ombudsman over concerns about wage exploitation. The penalties for non-compliance have been significantly increased since 2016, when the breaches in question occurred.

CORPORATES
CALTEX AUSTRALIA LIMITED – ASX CTX, AULION PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK OMBUDSMAN, FEDERAL CIRCUIT COURT OF AUSTRALIA

Union bid for three strikes penalties

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 7 : 28-Jun-18

The New South Wales state conference of the Australian Labor Party will be presented with a motion to hold lead contractors on public projects liable for breaches of workplace laws across their supply chain. The motion will be put forward by the Transport Workers’ Union and the Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union. They will propose that head contractors have their contracts terminated if three separate breaches of workplace laws are identified. The unions also intend to put the motion to Labor’s national conference.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, TRANSPORT WORKERS’ UNION, AUSTRALIAN MANUFACTURING WORKERS’ UNION, AUSTRALIAN BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION COMMISSION