O75 Public Administration

Melbourne ports dispute set to escalate

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Original article by Anna Patty
The Age – Page: 24 : 20-Mar-18

Qube Ports wants the Fair Work Commission to terminate an enterprise agreement for dock workers in Melbourne, but the Maritime Union of Australia has warned of further industrial action if Qube succeeds. Workers at Qube’s terminal in Melbourne have staged a 48-hour strike and imposed work bans, and the MUA’s Warren Smith says workers will not return to work if the FWC terminates the enterprise agreement. Qube has rejected the MUA’s push to reinstate a 2014 roster whereby employees worked for seven weeks and had one week off, arguing that it is uneconomic.

CORPORATES
QUBE PORTS, QUBE HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX QUB, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, MARITIME UNION OF AUSTRALIA, MIRRAT, ACTU

Uber, Airbnb, Deliveroo urge labour law shake-up

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Original article by Patrick Durkin, David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 16 : 20-Mar-18

The Senate inquiry into the future of work has received more than 140 submissions, with sharing-economy businesses arguing that existing workplace laws are outdated. Deliveroo has used its submission to propose the creation of a new category of employment for people who work in the "gig economy", noting that regulations governing casual employees are not compatible with its business model. Meanwhile, Google has stressed the need to retrain up to 3.5 million workers whose jobs may be at risk due to digital disruption.

CORPORATES
DELIVEROO, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, UBER AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AIRBNB AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, SEEK LIMITED – ASX SEK, CENTRE FOR FUTURE WORK, FOODORA, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK OMBUDSMAN, AUSTRALIA. PRODUCTIVITY COMMISSION, ATLASSIAN CORPORATION PLC

Greens fire up climate row

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Original article by Joe Kelly, Andrew Burrell, Rachel Baxendale
The Australian – Page: 1 & 7 : 20-Mar-18

Australian Greens leader Richard Di Natale has been criticised for suggesting that a cyclone in Darwin and recent bushfires in two states were due to the Federal Government’s policy on climate change. A total of 69 homes were destroyed in the New South Wales town of Tathra, and Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull says it is inappropriate to politicise such events. Di Natale’s leadership is also under scrutiny in the wake of the Greens’ loss in the Batman by-election.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN GREENS, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, GREENS (WESTERN AUSTRALIA), AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, BEGA VALLEY SHIRE COUNCIL, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, NORTHERN TERRITORY. DEPT OF THE CHIEF MINISTER

Cormann presses crossbench on tax cuts

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Original article by Joe Kelly
The Australian – Page: 4 : 20-Mar-18

Finance Minister Mathias Cormann says the Federal Government’s corporate tax cuts are needed to ensure that Australian businesses are internationally competitive. The Government will seek the Senate crossbenchers’ support for the tax package ahead of the May 2018 Budget, and it will require nine of them to vote in favour of the bill. The Nick Xenophon Team opposes the tax cuts, while One Nation leader Pauline Hanson is not convinced that reducing the tax rate for all companies to 25 per cent will result in higher growth in wages.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FINANCE, NICK XENOPHON TEAM, ONE NATION PARTY, LIBERAL DEMOCRATIC PARTY, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN GREENS

Hit black economy and raise billions

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Original article by Adam Creighton
The Australian – Page: 21 : 20-Mar-18

A report from KPMG concludes that targeting the black economy could generate revenue of at least $A5.8bn for the Federal Government. This includes an extra $A2.5bn in business taxes and an additional $A1.2bn in goods and services tax revenue. KPMG’s recommendations include banning income tax deductions for wages paid in cash and prohibiting cash transactions of more than $A100,000. The Government’s May 2018 Budget is expected to include its response to the final report of a black economy taskforce.

CORPORATES
KPMG AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

Marshall vows to rev up business with reforms

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Original article by Simon Evans
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 6 : 19-Mar-18

The Liberal Party has secured power in South Australia, with Premier-elect Steven Marshall ending 16 years of Labor rule. Marshall maintained his commitment to scrapping any specific renewable energy targets, while he noted that his plans to deregulate shop trading hours, reduce public service costs, cut payroll tax and cap local government rates will all help to revive the state economy. Outgoing Premier Jay Weatherill said he will step down as Labor leader.

CORPORATES
LIBERAL PARTY OF SOUTH AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, SOUTH AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PREMIER AND CABINET, SA BEST, TESLA INCORPORATED

Japan rises to second-biggest trade partner

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Original article by Rowan Callick
The Australian – Page: 21 : 19-Mar-18

New figures show that Japan has again become Australia’s second-biggest trading partner, having relinquished this status to the US in 2015-16. There was an 18 per cent increase in Australian exports to Japan in 2016-17, while the total value of two-way trade between Australia and Japan rose by 13 per cent to $A69bn. Two-way trade between Australia and the US totalled $A66bn. The figures also show that Australia exported a total of $A63bn worth of iron ore in 2016-17, ahead of coal ($A54bn) and education services ($A28bn).

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA JAPAN ECONOMIC INTELLIGENCE, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INDUSTRY, INNOVATION AND SCIENCE. BUREAU OF RESOURCES AND ENERGY ECONOMICS, IMPEX CORPORATION, JERA, ROYAL DUTCH SHELL PLC

Cash could face court over raids

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Original article by Adam Gartrell
The Age – Page: 9 : 16-Mar-18

Daniel Walton, the national secretary of the Australian Workers’ Union, says it will seek to subpoena Jobs Minister Michaelia Cash to appear before a hearing into a police raid on the union’s offices in October 2017. The AWU also wants to subpoena Cash’s former media adviser, David De Garis, who resigned after admitting that he told the media about the raid, as well as the Fair Work Ombudsman’s former media director, Mark Lee. The latter has denied leaking details of the raid to De Garis.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF JOBS AND SMALL BUSINESS, AUSTRALIAN WORKERS’ UNION-FEDERATION OF INDUSTRIAL, MANUFACTURING AND ENGINEERING EMPLOYEES, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK OMBUDSMAN, AUSTRALIA. REGISTERED ORGANISATIONS COMMISSION, AUSTRALIAN FEDERAL POLICE, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, GETUP LIMITED

Future Fund exempt from Labor tax plan

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Original article by Jacob Greber
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 16-Mar-18

Shadow treasurer Chris Bowen has advised that the Federal Government’s Future Fund will be exempt from Labor’s proposed changes to the dividend imputation system. He says exempting the sovereign wealth fund from the reforms will have no net impact on the Budget, while adding that the fund’s ability to meet future public sector pension liabilities could have been affected if it were denied access to cash refunds for unclaimed dividend imputation credits.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. FUTURE FUND MANAGEMENT AGENCY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FINANCE, AUSTRALIA. PARLIAMENTARY BUDGET OFFICE

Independents licking their lips at chance to play kingmaker

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Original article by Luke Griffiths
The Australian – Page: 8 : 15-Mar-18

There is growing speculation that the South Australian election on 17 March could result in another hung parliament. Labor was able to form government in 2014 with the support of independent MP Geoff Brock. He could potentially decide the next state government, along with fellow independent Troy Bell, if neither of the major political parties gain a majority in the lower house. Brock and Bell say they would be open to an alliance in the event of a hung parliament, but add that they have not held any formal discussions.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, LIBERAL PARTY OF SOUTH AUSTRALIA, SA-BEST, SOUTH AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PREMIER AND CABINET