O75 Public Administration

Doyle harassment report of no use to cops

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Original article by Chip Le Grand
The Australian – Page: 8 : 15-Mar-18

Tessa Sullivan has indicated that she could pursue legal action against the "Herald Sun" over its coverage of the sexual harassment allegations against Melbourne’s former Lord Mayor, Robert Doyle. She has also not ruled out criminal charges against Doyle, whose alleged misconduct prompted her to resign from the Melbourne City Council. Sullivan has not made a formal complaint to Victoria Police about Doyle, and a spokeswoman says it will not request a copy of Ian Freckelton’s report on the allegations unless a formal complaint is made.

CORPORATES
MELBOURNE CITY COUNCIL, VICTORIA POLICE, MELBOURNE HEALTH

Restaurants, cafes back retail call for pay freeze

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Original article by Ewin Hannan, Simone Fox Koob
The Australian – Page: 5 : 15-Mar-18

The restaurant and catering industry association has voiced its support for the National Retail Association’s call for the minimum wage to be left unchanged in 2018. Its submission to the Fair Work Commission argues that a rise in the minimum wage cannot be justified given the current economic conditions. The Australian Retailers Association has proposed increasing the minimum wage by $A13.20 a week, in line with the inflation rate, while Master Grocers Australia has called for a rise of just $A7.20 a week.

CORPORATES
RESTAURANT AND CATERING INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION OF AUSTRALIA INCORPORATED, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, AUSTRALIAN RETAILERS ASSOCIATION, MASTER GROCERS’ AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, ACTU, IGA, FOODWORKS SUPERMARKET GROUP LIMITED, BOTTLE-O, MITRE 10 LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY

Beazley backs Swan for president’s role

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Original article by Troy Bramston
The Australian – Page: 6 : 15-Mar-18

Former Labor leader Kim Beazley says Wayne Swan would make a "very good" president of the federal Labor party and provide Opposition Leader Bill Shorten with valuable campaign advice. Shorten has also endorsed the former treasurer’s candidacy for Labor president, although ex-prime minister Kevin Rudd says Swan would be divisive at a time when Labor needs "unity of purpose". Labor’s climate change and energy spokesman Mark Butler is seeking a second term as the party’s president.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, TRANSPORT WORKERS’ UNION

Shorten in scramble to fix tax grab

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Original article by Simon Beavis
The Australian – Page: 1 & 6 : 15-Mar-18

Federal Opposition Leader Bill Shorten has signalled that he is open to a compromise regarding plans to unwind changes to the dividend imputation system, amid concern about the potential impact on retirees. Shorten has conceded that about 250,000 pensioners would be affected by the policy, and he has indicated that Labor will look at measures to ensure that they are not worse off. The Self-Managed Super Fund ­Association and seniors groups have urged Labor to reconsider the policy, while Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has accused Labor of targeting pensioners and self-funded retirees in a "cash grab".

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, SMSF ASSOCIATION, NATIONAL SENIORS AUSTRALIA LIMITED, ASSOCIATION OF INDEPENDENT RETIREES (AIR) LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF HUMAN SERVICES. CENTRELINK

Doyle damned

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Original article by John Masanauskas, Aneeka Simonis
Herald Sun – Page: 1 & 4 : 14-Mar-18

Melbourne City Council’s investigation into the conduct of former Lord Mayor Robert Doyle has found that he sexually harassed female councillors on three separate occasions. The investigation headed by Ian Freckelton also found that Doyle had consumed a significant amount of red wine on the three occasions when he had sexually harassed Tessa Sullivan and Cathy Oke. Amongst other things, Freckelton’s report has recommended that the council review its policy regarding the serving of alcohol at council meetings. Doyle continues to deny all allegations against him.

CORPORATES
MELBOURNE CITY COUNCIL

Tax fraud prosecutors tip raft of fresh charges

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Original article by Sam Buckingham-Jones
The Australian – Page: 4 : 14-Mar-18

Prosecutor David Moorhouse has told a Sydney court that it might take another 4-6 months to prepare the brief of evidence in a $A165m tax fraud case. Ten people have been charged with a range of offences, including the son and daughter of the Australian Taxation Office’s former deputy commissioner, Michael Cranston. Moorhouse also said the defendants may face additional or amended charges when the brief is completed. Magistrate David Price set a deadline of 13 July to file the completed brief.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE, AUSTRALIAN FEDERAL POLICE

ANZ-Roy Morgan Australian Consumer Confidence down 3pts to 116.0 after poor GDP result

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 14-Mar-18

ANZ-Roy Morgan Australian Consumer Confidence fell 2.5% to 116 in the week ended 11 March, partially unwinding gains over the previous two weeks. The fall was broad-based, with households particularly pessimistic about current financial conditions. Views towards current economic conditions declined 3.5%, partially reversing the previous 5.1% rise. Sentiment around future conditions slipped 1.9%. The future conditions index still remains well above the levels seen for most of 2017, although it has slipped below its long-run average. Households’ pessimism towards financial conditions extended the previous week’s move, with the current and future sub-indices falling 5.5% and 1.0%, bringing them to five and 14-week lows respectively.

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

Strongest growth predicted since global financial crisis

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Original article by Jacob Greber
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 2 : 14-Mar-18

The OECD has upgraded its economic growth forecast for Australia by 0.2 per cent in 2018, to three per cent, citing factors such as strong growth in jobs and an upturn in non-mining and infrastructure investment. The OECD also expects the Australian economy to expand by three per cent in 2019, which is 0.3 per cent higher than its previous forecast in December. Meanwhile, the OECD expects the global economy to expand by 3.9 per cent, while it forecasts growth in US GDP of 1.5-1.75 per cent in 2018 and 2019 due to the Trump administration’s tax reforms.

CORPORATES
ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT, UNITED STATES. EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB

Tax grab to hit lowest incomes

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Original article by Simon Benson, Joe Kelly
The Australian – Page: 1 & 6 : 14-Mar-18

The Federal Opposition claims that abolishing cash refunds for excess dividend imputation credits would primarily affect wealthy individuals and members of self-managed superannuation funds. However, analysis by the Treasury suggests that people whose annual income is less than $A18,200 would be hardest hit, which is estimated to be about 610,000 individuals. In contrast, the reforms would only affect about 5,000 people with annual income of more than $A180,000. Treasurer Scott Morrison has warned that the policy would affect more than a million Australians, including 230,000 pensioners, while the wealthy would continue to gain the full value of their franking credits.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, FINANCIAL SERVICES CONSUMER POLICY CENTRE INCORPORATED, SMSF ASSOCIATION, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FINANCE, AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE, CHIFLEY RESEARCH CENTRE

Retailers seek minimum-wage freeze

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 4 : 14-Mar-18

National Retail Association CEO Dominique Lamb says the Fair Work Commission should leave the minimum wage unchanged in 2018, arguing that retailers cannot afford a rise in base wages given the current trading conditions. In contrast, the Australian Chamber of Commerce & Industry has proposed increasing the minimum wage by $A13.20 per week, while the ACTU has pushed for a rise of $A50 a week. Labor in turn has called for an above-inflation increase in the minimum wage.

CORPORATES
NATIONAL RETAIL ASSOCIATION LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY, ACTU, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, THE AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY GROUP