O75 Public Administration

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence continues to recover post-Budget

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 16-May-18

ANZ-Roy Morgan Australian Consumer Confidence rose 1.0% to 120.8 in the week ended 13 May, to its highest level in 14 weeks. The details were broadly positive, with four out of five subindices posting gains. Households’ views toward current financial conditions rose 0.7%, largely recovering from the 0.8% fall previously. Views towards future financial conditions rose 1.4%, partially reversing the 3.2% fall previously. Both subindices remain above their long term averages. Sentiment around current economic conditions rose 2.4% to 113.2, the highest level in 14 weeks. At the same time, views towards future economic conditions rose 3.7% to 117.5, the highest level in 15 weeks. However, the "time to buy a household item" subindex fell 2.7%, partially undoing the 5.0% gain in the previous week.

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

Emissions jump underestimated

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Original article by Kyle Mackey-Laws
The Canberra Times – Page: 5 : 15-May-18

Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions rose by 1.5 per cent in 2017, the third year in a row that emissions have increased. Bill Hare of Climate Analytics says Australia will struggle to meet its 2030 Paris climate pledge if the upward trend continues. The electricity sector reduced its emissions by 3.1 per cent in 2017, with the Hazelwood coal-fired power plant having closed in March. Labor’s climate spokesman Mark Butler says the accuracy of the federal government’s land clearing data is increasingly being questioned, with data on emissions from land use having indicated "inexplicable reductions" in emissions for some time.

CORPORATES
CLIMATE ANALYTICS, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY, THE WILDERNESS SOCIETY, AUSTRALIAN CONSERVATION FOUNDATION INCORPORATED

Wage theft claim hits project

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Original article by Michael Inman, Steven Trask, Katie Burgess
The Canberra Times – Page: 2 : 15-May-18

Hitchcock Civil Engineering & Landscaping has agreed to have its books audited, following claims of wage theft. The company is a contractor on Canberra’s $A300 million London Circuit project, and it has strongly denied the allegations of wage theft by the Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining & Energy Union. CFMMEU official Zac Smith contends that more than 20 staff that Hitchcock has working on the project could collectively be out of pocket by $A70,000.

CORPORATES
HITCHCOCK CIVIL ENGINEERING AND LANDSCAPING, CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MARITIME, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, CAPITAL PROPERTY GROUP, CONSTRUCTION CONTROL

Business demands clarity on cuts

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Original article by Joe Kelly
The Australian – Page: 4 : 15-May-18

The tax rate for companies with turnover of up to $A50m is slated to be reduced to 27.5 per cent on 1 July, as part of the Federal Government’s enterprise tax plan. Australian Chamber of Commerce & Industry CEO James Pearson has urged the Opposition to declare its stance on the tax cuts. He says businesses may choose not to utilise the extra cash due to concerns that the tax cuts may be reversed if Labor wins the next election. Council of Small Business of Australia CEO Peter Strong has also called for Labor to clarify its position.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY, COUNCIL OF SMALL BUSINESS ORGANISATIONS OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FINANCE, ONE NATION PARTY, CENTRE ALLIANCE

Coalition better for well-paid unionists

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 15-May-18

Research suggests that many blue-collar workers on high salaries will be better off under the Federal Government’s tax plan than under Labor’s alternative proposals. Workplace Minister Craig Laundy contends that families will definitely be worse off under Labor’s tax plan. For its part, Labor claims that low and middle-income earners will do better under its tax plan than under the Coalition. Although stating that 90 per cent of its members earn more than $A100,000 a year, Electrical Trades Union official Troy Gray says its members would do better under a Labor government.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF JOBS AND SMALL BUSINESS, ELECTRICAL TRADES UNION, AUSTRALIAN BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION COMMISSION, AUSTRALIA. REGISTERED ORGANISATIONS COMMISSION, ACTU

Bring on TPP-11 or lose $15bn a year, says Minerals Council

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Original article by Adam Creighton
The Australian – Page: 17 & 20 : 14-May-18

The Minerals Council of Australia has released the results of modelling which suggests that the Trans-Pacific Partnership will boost Australia’s GDP by about 0.54 per cent a year, which equates to $A15bn. CEO David Byers says the 11-nation trade deal will bolster jobs, wages, economic growth and consumer choice in Australia. Byers has downplayed the ACTU’s concerns that the TPP will prompt a surge in temporary skilled migrant numbers, and called on federal parliament to endorse it.

CORPORATES
MINERALS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, TRANS-PACIFIC PARTNERSHIP, ACTU, UNITED STATES. EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND TRADE, BRANDEIS UNIVERSITY, JOHN HOPKINS UNIVERSITY, NATIONAL FARMERS’ FEDERATION LIMITED, UNIVERSITY OF NEW SOUTH WALES

Split tax cut bill, senators warn PM

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Original article by Joe Kelly
The Australian – Page: 4 : 14-May-18

One Nation leader Pauline Hanson says the Federal Government must legislate income tax cuts proposed for 2018-19 separately from future tax relief outlined in the May 2018 Budget. Hanson argues that there could be a recession before all three phases of the seven-year tax cuts package take effect. Centre Alliance also supports splitting the tax cuts bill. Both parties, which have five seats in the Senate, also oppose any move by Opposition Leader Bill Shorten to wind back company tax cuts that have already been legislated.

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

WA Treasurer puts asset sales on hold

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Original article by Brad Thompson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 11 : 11-May-18

The Western Australian Government’s May 2018 Budget has forecast a deficit of $A1.3bn for 2017-18, while it expects to deliver a $A572m surplus in 2020-21. The Budget papers also show that the state’s net debt is forecast to be $A39.1bn in 2018-19 and $A40.85bn in 2019-20, with Premier Mark McGowan reiterating that the government will reduce debt gradually. Meanwhile, Budget measures are expected to result in the average household paying an extra $A292 in government fees and charges in 2018-19.

CORPORATES
WESTERN AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PREMIER AND CABINET, WESTERN AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF TREASURY AND FINANCE, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, WESTERN POWER CORPORATION, LANDGATE, TOTALIZATOR AGENCY BOARD (WESTERN AUSTRALIA), INVESTEC AUSTRALIA LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. COMMONWEALTH GRANTS COMMISSION, AUSTRALIA. PRODUCTIVITY COMMISSION, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FINANCE

Cloud hovers over Labor’s Aly

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Original article by Joe Kelly
The Australian – Page: 1 & 7 : 11-May-18

The dual citizenship saga continues to plague Federal Parliament, with the latest High Court ruling having raised uncertainty about the eligibility of Labor MP Anne Aly. Parliament’s citizenship registry shows that Aly applied to have her Egyptian citizenship cancelled in early May 2016, well before nominations for the federal election closed in June. However, Aly is yet to submit any documentation to prove that her Egyptian citizenship has been cancelled. Professor George Williams from the University of New South Wales has called for a referendum on the issue of dual citizenship.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, HIGH COURT OF AUSTRALIA, UNIVERSITY OF NEW SOUTH WALES, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

Unions ‘new capitalists’: Kennett

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 2 : 11-May-18

About 100,000 unionists attended a rally in Melbourne’s CBD on 9 May, as part of the ACTU’s campaign for industrial relations reform. However, former Victorian premier Jeff Kennett says there is little support among the general public for workplace reform, adding that the ACTU’s campaign is undermined by the fact that many union members earn more than $A100,000 a year. CFMEU official David Noonan argues that large amounts of overtime in the construction industry boosts incomes in the sector, while building workers lack secure employment.

CORPORATES
ACTU, CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN MINES AND METALS ASSOCIATION (INCORPORATED), MARITIME UNION OF AUSTRALIA