O75 Public Administration

MP’s China donor bombshell

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Original article by Simon Benson
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 23-May-18

Liberal MP Andrew Hastie has used parliamentary privilege to name property developer Chau Chak Wing as a suspect in the payment of bribes to a United Nations official in 2013. He said Chau is the individual that the FBI has given the code-name of "CC-3" in the bribery case. Chau has denied any involvement in the plot, and lawyer Mark O’Brien has stated that the FBI gave his client a pseudonym to protect his reputation, as he had never been a suspect. Chau, who has made substantial donations to both of Australia’s major political parties, has also denied that he has ever been a member of China’s Communist Party.

CORPORATES
LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, UNITED STATES. FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION, UNITED NATIONS, COMMUNIST PARTY (CHINA), FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, AUSTRALIAN SECURITY INTELLIGENCE ORGANISATION

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence on six week streak

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 23-May-18

ANZ-Roy Morgan Australian Consumer Confidence rose 0.7% to 121.6 in the week ended 20 May, to its highest level in 15 weeks. Households’ views towards current financial conditions rose 2.0% to110.1, the highest in 12 weeks. Views towards future financial conditions were up a modest 0.6%, following a 1.4% rise the previous week. Both subindices remain above their long-term averages. Sentiment around current economic conditions showed no change after a solid 2.4% increase in the previous week. However, views towards future economic conditions eased 1.9%, partially unwinding the previous week’s 3.7% rise. The "time to buy a household item" subindex rose 2.6%.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ

States suffer as PM’s pet projects prosper

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Original article by David Uren
The Australian – Page: 2 : 22-May-18

Federal grants to the states for infrastructure projects have declined to their lowest point since 2013-14. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has stated that the federal government should not be seen as an ATM for the states and territories on infrastructure, with his government preferring to put money in projects in which it has direct equity, such as Western Sydney Airport. Adrian Dwyer, the CEO of Infrastructure Partnerships Australia, contends that there is a considerable difference between direct and equity funding. He says more infrastructure spending is needed to address congestion in Australia’s cities.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, INFRASTRUCTURE PARTNERSHIPS AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INFRASTRUCTURE AND REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Abbott blasts Turnbull’s anti-coal chiefs

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Original article by Greg Brown
The Australian – Page: 1 & 6 : 22-May-18

Energy Minister Josh Frydenberg has dismissed calls for the Federal Government to acquire the Liddell power station after AGL Energy formally rejected Alinta Energy’s offer to buy it. Coalition backbenchers Tony Abbott and Barnaby Joyce said the government should compulsorily acquire Liddell, with the former saying it should then be on-sold to Alinta. Abbott has also accused senior government bureaucrats of having an anti-coal bias. He argues that coal remains the lowest-cost option for baseload power.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY, AGL ENERGY LIMITED – ASX AGL, ALINTA ENERGY (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN ENERGY MARKET OPERATOR LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INDUSTRY, INNOVATION AND SCIENCE, AUSTRALIA. ENERGY SECURITY BOARD, THE CENTRE FOR INDEPENDENT STUDIES LIMITED

Hanson sinks PM’s tax plan

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Original article by Joe Kelly
The Australian – Page: 1 & 6 : 22-May-18

The Federal Government’s company tax cuts package faces likely defeat in the Senate, after One Nation withdrew its support for the policy. One Nation leader Pauline Hanson has questioned whether the policy would result in more jobs, given that the tax cuts would take a number of years to fully implement. Hanson adds that the exclusion of an apprenticeship scheme and funding for a coal-fired power station from the May 2018 Budget also contributed to One Nation’s decision to change its stance on the tax cuts. However, it may reverse its decision if the Government agrees to new concessions.

CORPORATES
ONE NATION PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, CENTRE ALLIANCE, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Inflation Expectations up in April led by Melbourne, Adelaide & Perth

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

Australians aged +14 expect inflation of 4.5% per year over the next two years, according to the Roy Morgan Inflation Expectations Index for April 2018. This is up 0.2% from a month ago, and up 0.1% on April 2017. Despite the increase in April, Inflation Expectations are still well below the eight-year average of 5.0% Analysis of Inflation Expectations by political affiliation shows that supporters of both major parties drove the index higher in April. Inflation Expectations for ALP supporters increased 0.3% to 4.5% and are now in line with the national average, while Inflation Expectations for L-NP supporters increased 0.4% to 4.1%.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN GREENS

Crossbenchers link Google levy to company tax support

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Original article by Ben Packham
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 21-May-18

The Federal Government will shortly release a discussion paper on the taxation of multinational technology companies. Centre Alliance senators Rex Patrick and Stirling Griff have signalled that the proposed "Google tax" may influence how they vote on the government’s corporate tax package. Senator Patrick says the party wants to ensure that digital companies are taxed appropriately, which it believes is not the case at present. Treasurer Scott Morrison flagged a tax crackdown on technology companies in his Budget speech.

CORPORATES
CENTRE ALLIANCE, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FINANCE, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

Productivity blamed for low wage growth

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Original article by Sid Maher
The Australian – Page: 2 : 21-May-18

Australian Industry Group CEO Innes Willox has rejected claims by ACTU president Sally McManus that low wages growth is the result of a shift in the industrial relations system in favour of employers rather than unions. Research by the AiG suggests that low growth in productivity is a major contributor to flat growth wages. Willox says low wages growth is a global trend, and he notes that there has been strong wages growth in some sectors due to supply and demand considerations.

CORPORATES
THE AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY GROUP, ACTU, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

ALP seeks to shift the IR balance

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 21-May-18

Shadow workplace relations minister Brendan O’Connor has accused the Federal Government of politicising the Fair Work Commission by failing to appoint any members with a union background. He says Labor will increase union representation on the FWC if it wins the next election, noting that all 14 appointments since the Coalition won office in 2013 have been employer ­appointments. However, Workplace Minister Craig Laundy argues that Labor appointed most of the 39 members of the FWC, including president Iain Ross.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, AUSTRALIAN MINES AND METALS ASSOCIATION (INCORPORATED), ACTU, AUSTRALIA. ROAD SAFETY REMUNERATION TRIBUNAL

Coalition achieves million jobs vow

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Original article by Adam Creighton
The Australian – Page: 6 : 18-May-18

Official data shows that Australia’s unemployment rate rose from 5.5 per cent to a nine-month high of 5.6 per cent in April. Some 23,000 jobs were created in April, and the economy has added 1.014 million jobs since the Coalition won office in September 2013. Former prime minister Tony Abbott had made an election commitment to generate one million new jobs during the first five years of a Coalition government. Tom Kennedy of JP Morgan notes that the construction and healthcare sectors accounted for more than 50 per cent of the jobs created during 2017.

CORPORATES
JP MORGAN AUSTRALIA LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB