O75 Public Administration

Judge slams union’s deplorable record

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 27-Feb-18

The Construction, Forestry, Mining & Energy Union has been fined $A95,000 over a "closed shop" policy at a Melbourne construction site. CFMEU delegate Godwin Farrugia has in turn been fined $A10,000 after advising workers that they could not access the site unless their union dues had been paid. The Federal Court’s Justice Richard Tracey ruled that the CFMEU’s frequent breaches of workplace laws meant that a significant financial penalty was justified.

CORPORATES
CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, QUEST APARTMENTS PTY LTD, ARTEAM, AUSTRALIAN BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION COMMISSION

Andrews delivers for his union movement mates

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Original article by Robert Gottliebsen
The Australian – Page: 29 : 27-Feb-18

Victorian Government legislation could give unions unprecedented power to decide the future of many businesses. The Victorian Labour Hire Licensing Bill 2017 will require all labour hire firms in the state to renew their registration every three years. However, a range of interested parties will be able to oppose re-registration – including unions and rival labour hire firms. The legislation would enable a union to demand that a firm agrees to become fully unionised in return for supporting the renewal of their registration; unions could potentially target each firm in turn until they are all unionised. Significantly, the bill – which has been passed by the lower house – also covers large consulting firms.

CORPORATES
CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, SHOP, DISTRIBUTIVE AND ALLIED EMPLOYEES’ ASSOCIATION, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, HAYS PERSONNEL SERVICES (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, ADECCO AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, CHANDLER MACLEOD GROUP LIMITED, MANPOWER AUSTRALIA, PAXUS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, PROGRAMMED MAINTENANCE SERVICES LIMITED, DELOITTE TOUCHE TOHMATSU LIMITED, PRICEWATERHOUSECOOPERS AUSTRALIA (INTERNATIONAL) PTY LTD, ACCENTURE AUSTRALIA LIMITED, KPMG AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, VICTORIA. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET

Shorten’s IR promise to militant CFMEU

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Original article by Simon Benson
The Australian – Page: 1 & 6 : 27-Feb-18

Federal Opposition Leader Bill Shorten and employment spokesman Brendan O’Connor visited Glencore’s Oaky North coal mine in October 2017. Shorten told Construction, Forestry, Mining & Energy Union members who were engaged in a long-running strike at the site that Labor will overhaul workplace laws if it wins the next federal election. Employment Minister Craig Laundy says Shorten’s speech demonstrates that Labor intends to pursue industrial relations reforms that would give unions greater power in the workplace.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, GLENCORE PLC, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT, ACTU

Indonesians and New Zealanders more confident than Australians

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 26-Feb-18

In early 2018 Consumer Confidence in Indonesia and New Zealand is higher than mutual neighbour Australia. Indonesian Consumer Confidence ended 2017 at 155.4, and it is almost 30pts above the latest ANZ-Roy Morgan New Zealand Consumer Confidence Rating of 126.9 in January, and more than 40pts higher than the latest ANZ-Roy Morgan Australian Consumer Confidence Rating of 115.3. Indonesian Consumer Confidence soared following the Global Financial Crisis in 2008-09 and has been consistently higher than either Australia or NZ since late 2010. In fact, Indonesian Consumer Confidence has not dipped below 140 since April 2012 (139.6) and it reached a high of 161.4 in August and November 2014, when current President Joko Widodo was elected (July 2014) and inaugurated three months later. New Zealand Consumer Confidence has also been consistently higher than in Australia in the last four years. Since September 2013 New Zealand Consumer Confidence has been higher than in Australia in 50 out of 52 months and more than 10pts higher for two long periods in particular: November 2013 to June 2015 and November 2016 to the present. New Zealand Consumer Confidence reached a recent high of 129.9 in September 2017 as New Zealanders went to the polls. In contrast, Australian Consumer Confidence has lagged its neighbours for much of the past half-decade after an initially strong recovery from the Global Financial Crisis of 2008-09 with the impact of the "Mining Boom" peaking in 2010-2011.

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ROY MORGAN LIMITED

Hanson dooms company tax cuts

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Original article by David Uren
The Australian – Page: 1 & 6 : 26-Feb-18

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has reiterated that Australia must reduce its company tax rate in order to remain internationally competitive in the wake of the Trump administration’s tax reforms. However, One Nation leader Pauline Hanson says her party will not support the tax bill in the Senate. She has also questioned whether reducing the tax rate for all companies to 25 per cent would actually result in increased investment in Australia. Acting Prime Minister Mathias Cormann says the tax package must be passed in its entirety.

CORPORATES
ONE NATION PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, LIBERAL DEMOCRATIC PARTY, UNITED STATES. EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT, INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND

‘There’s a lot of money in the room’

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Original article by John Kehoe
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 10 : 26-Feb-18

Seven Network owner Kerry Stokes says US President Donald Trump is more engaging than he had expected. Stokes is one of a number of Australian executives to have accompanied Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull on his visit to the US, and whom Turnbull introduced to Trump. QIC CEO Damien Frawley said the White House was clearly a lot more organised than it has been portrayed in the media, while Business Council of Australia president Grant King said it was clear that Trump is "getting some things done".

CORPORATES
SEVEN NETWORK LIMITED, UNITED STATES. EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, QIC LIMITED, BUSINESS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES, IFM INVESTORS PTY LTD, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, LEND LEASE GROUP LIMITED – ASX LLC, QANTAS AIRWAYS LIMITED – ASX QAN, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, AMP CAPITAL INVESTORS LIMITED, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, GOLDMAN SACHS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, PRATT INDUSTRIES PTY LTD

Call for Adani to get on and build

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Original article by Mark Ludlow, Jacob Greber
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 23-Feb-18

Queensland’s Deputy Premier Jackie Trad says it is time that Adani made a commitment to develop the $A16.5 billion Carmichael coal mine. Trad reiterated previous comments that the Carmichael project needs to be viable in its own right, a view echoed by federal Labor frontbencher Anthony Albanese. Trad’s comments followed the revelation that Adani had backtracked on making March the deadline for deciding whether to make a financial commitment to the project.

CORPORATES
QUEENSLAND. DEPT OF THE PREMIER AND CABINET, ADANI MINING PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, NORTHERN AUSTRALIA INFRASTRUCTURE FACILITY

Plan now or quality of city life will fall

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

Infrastructure Australia contends that governments need to start planning for what it claims will be a population increase of 12 million over the next 30 years. Much of this growth is expected to occur in major capital cities such as Sydney and Melbourne, but Infrastructure Australia warns that the quality of life in large cities will suffer if planning does not start now on infrastructure issues such as the adoption of user-pays road systems and the development of large "timetable-free" public transport networks.

CORPORATES
INFRASTRUCTURE AUSTRALIA

WA tops debt list as states binge

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Original article by Richard Gluyas
The Australian – Page: 4 : 23-Feb-18

Standard & Poor’s forecasts that the combined debt of Australia’s state and territory governments will blow out by 5.1 per cent in 2018, to $A257.8bn. They will also refinance or repay some $A45.4bn worth of debt, according to the credit ratings agency. Meanwhile, the Western Australian government’s debt is expected to rise from $A45.8bn to $A56bn in 2019, which would see its debt-to-revenue ratio rise from 102 per cent to 114 per cent. The state has a credit rating of "AA-plus" with a negative outlook.

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STANDARD AND POOR’S FINANCIAL SERVICES LLC, WESTERN POWER CORPORATION

Joyce faces challenge to Nats leadership

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Original article by Andrew Tillett, Tom McIlroy
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 23-Feb-18

Barnaby Joyce’s future as leader of the National Party remains under scrutiny ahead of a party room meeting on 26 February. Nationals MP Andrew Broad will ask his colleagues to support a resolution calling for Joyce to resign, arguing that he should do so for the good of the party and the nation. Broad also believes that Joyce should step down from his ministerial portfolio and spend some time on the backbench in the wake of his affair with a former staffer. The National Party’s chief whip Michelle Landry says Joyce should have sufficient party room support to fend off a leadership spill.

CORPORATES
NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF VETERANS’ AFFAIRS