O75 Public Administration

Unions block docks with cars, share bikes

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 1 & 8 : 5-Dec-17

Maritime Union of Australia supporters are defying a court order to end a picket of Victorian International Container Terminal at Webb Dock in Melbourne. Trucks are being prevented from accessing the site, with roads being blocked with a range of objects. The blockade has been in place since late November, preventing access to more than 1,000 shipping containers of consumer goods and medical supplies. The dispute arose after the MUA alleged that VICT refused to provide one of its members with shifts at the site. VICT contends that the worker does not have a maritime security identification card.

CORPORATES
MARITIME UNION OF AUSTRALIA, VICTORIAN INTERNATIONAL CONTAINER TERMINAL PTY LTD, CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, ELECTRICAL TRADES UNION, NATIONAL UNION OF WORKERS, AUSTRALIAN RAIL, TRAM AND BUS INDUSTRY UNION, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT, VICTORIA POLICE

Dual-citizenship debacle catches up with Shorten

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Original article by Rosie Lewis, Rachel Baxendale, David Crowe
The Australian – Page: 1 & 6 : 5-Dec-17

Documents released on 4 December reveal that Labor Senator Katy Gallagher remained a UK citizen two months after nominations for the 2016 federal election closed. National Party leader Barnaby Joyce, who had to re-contest the seat of New England after being forced to resign over his dual citizenship, has accused Opposition Leader Bill Shorten of being a big hypocrite over the issue. Joyce noted that Shorten had claimed that no Labor MP would become embroiled in the dual-citizenship saga.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, HIGH COURT OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, NICK XENOPHON TEAM, COURT OF DISPUTED RETURNS, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA

Rebound in wage data offers glimmer of hope

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Original article by Jacob Greber
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 5 : 5-Dec-17

Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows that wages in the private sector rose by 1.1 per cent quarter-on-quarter during the three months to September, and 2.5 per cent year-on-year. Data on public sector wage growth will be released with the national accounts on 6 December. However, the latest data suggests that the Reserve Bank will have scope to increase the cash rate if the recent growth in wages is sustained. Craig James of CommSec expects an interest rate rise in late 2018.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, COMMONWEALTH SECURITIES LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, GOLDMAN SACHS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

Cash-only hot spots in sights of ATO

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Original article by Nick Tabakoff
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 4-Dec-17

The Australian Taxation Office is currently targeting areas of the nation that have a lot of cash-only businesses. Such areas include Glenelg in South Australia and Sunnybank in Brisbane, with businesses being investigated including hairdressers and beauty parlours. The areas in question often have high immigrant numbers, and ATO Commissioner Chris Jordan, says Chatswood in Sydney could be one area for future targeting. The ATO’s crackdown on the cash economy has already netted it $A200 million in unpaid tax.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE

Oligopolies aren’t that bad: Grattan

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Original article by Jacob Greber
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 8 : 4-Dec-17

Research conducted by the Grattan Institute suggests that concerns that Australia’s economy has too many oligopolies are over-stated. Jim Minifie of the Grattan Institute says it found that Australian companies which dominate their markets only account for around 15 per cent of the economy, and that Australia is not really any different to other comparable economies when it comes to the number of oligopolies. He notes that the supermarket sector has become less concentrated since the global financial crisis, although the banking sector has become more so.

CORPORATES
GRATTAN INSTITUTE, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, ALDI STORES SUPERMARKETS PTY LTD, COSTCO WHOLESALE AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, HIH INSURANCE LIMITED

Trump’s tax cut puts heat on Labor

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Original article by Andrew White, Cameron Stewart
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 4-Dec-17

Australian business leaders have warned that jobs and investment will be at risk unless proposed changes to the corporate tax regime are implemented. Business Council of Australia CEO Jennifer Westacott says the US will attract more capital at the expense of Australia after the US Senate passed the tax package of President Donald Trump. The US corporate tax rate will be slashed from 35 per cent to around 20 per cent, prompting business groups to urge the Australian Labor Party and crossbenchers to support the proposal for an across-the-board reduction in Australia’s company tax rate to 25 per cent.

CORPORATES
BUSINESS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, UNITED STATES. EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT, PRICEWATERHOUSECOOPERS, UNIVERSITY OF SYDNEY. UNITED STATES STUDIES CENTRE, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, REPUBLICAN PARTY (UNITED STATES)

Business Confidence up 1.4pts in November to 114.1

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 4-Dec-17

Business Confidence in Australia rose 1.4pts (+1.2%) to 114.1 in November 2017, according to the Roy Morgan Business Single Source survey, despite political issues for the Federal Government facing two by-elections over the next fortnight. Some 49.7% (up 1.9ppts) of businesses expect "good times" for the Australian economy over the next year, while 44.2% (down 1.6ppts) expect "bad times". Meanwhile, 44% (down 1.8ppts) of businesses say their business will be "better off" financially this time next year, while 20.3% (down 2.9ppts) expect the business to be "worse off" this time next year. The small increase in Business Confidence in November was driven by rises in confidence in industries including Finance & Insurance, Accommodation & Food services, Professional, scientific & technical and Education & training.

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

Australian Inflation Expectations up in October led by renters

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 4-Dec-17

Australians aged +14 expect inflation of 4.5% per year over the next two years, according to the Roy Morgan Inflation Expectations Index for October 2017. This is up 0.1% in a month, and up 0.4% from October 2016. However, it remains well below the seven-year average of 5.0%. Inflation Expectations among renters was 4.9% in October, compared with just 3.9% for home owners and 4.2% for mortgagors. Analysis by State shows that Inflation Expectations are highest in South Australia at 4.9%, followed by Victoria and Queensland (4.6%). Analysing Inflation Expectations by Federal voting intention shows that ALP supporters (4.6%) have the highest inflation expectations, ahead of L-NP supporters (4%) and Greens supporters (4.4%)

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED

Bank probe hits union super

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Original article by Phillip Coorey, James Eyers
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 6 : 1-Dec-17

The federal government announced on 30 November that it would hold a royal commission into the financial services sector. The royal commission will cost $A75 million and run for 12 months. Its terms of reference are not as broad as the private members’ bill that Nationals Senator Barry O’Sullivan was looking to introduce and which was seen a major factor in Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Treasurer Scott Morrison’s decision to hold a royal commission. The government’s decision to include an examination of union-backed industry superannuation funds as part of the commission’s terms of reference is seen as "payback" to Labor for its part in forcing the government to change its mind on the issue.

CORPORATES
NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, INDUSTRY SUPER AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, JCP INVESTMENT PARTNERS LIMITED, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN BANKERS’ ASSOCIATION, WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES, BANK OF QUEENSLAND LIMITED – ASX BOQ, FINANCE SECTOR UNION

Epidemic of underpayment

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Original article by Patrick Durkin
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 12 : 1-Dec-17

Michael Smith, the chairman of 7-Eleven, says it has been taking active steps to eliminate underpayment of employees within its franchise network. They include biometric clocking- in and centralising its payroll system, and he believes it has done as much as it can to prevent further occurrences of underpayment within 7-Eleven. However, he says it would be wrong that the problem has not gone away within the Australian franchise sector as a whole, and that recent changes to the Franchise Code aimed at protecting workers from being underpaid are not sufficiently robust.

CORPORATES
7-ELEVEN STORES PTY LTD, CALTEX AUSTRALIA LIMITED – ASX CTX, DOMINO’S PIZZA GROUP PLC, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK OMBUDSMAN, PIZZA HUT AUSTRALIA