O75 Public Administration

Labor’s inequality claim a ‘lie’: Morrison

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 25-Jul-17

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten has indicated that addressing rising inequality will be one of Labor’s main goals if its wins the next federal election. However, Treasurer Scott Morrison has rejected claims by Labor that inequality is on the rise, noting that the last census indicated that income inequality is actually declining. Nonetheless, Morrison does concede that not everyone may feel that they are getting the benefits of Australia’s 25-plus years of continued economic growth.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE

Steep fine for 7-Eleven boss over pay rort

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Original article by Sarah Danckert
The Age – Page: 11 : 25-Jul-17

A former Brisbane-based 7-Eleven franchisee has been fined $A168,000 by the Federal Court, following an investigation by the Fair Work Ombudsman into wage underpayment. Jim Chien-Ching Chang was found to have underpaid eight employees by almost $A20,000, with one employee found to have been underpaid by almost $A14,000. The court heard that Chang had admitted to paying staff as little as $A13 an hour at all times of the day.

CORPORATES
7-ELEVEN STORES PTY LTD, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK OMBUDSMAN, JS TOP PTY LTD

Union claims not practical

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Original article by Estha Van Der Linden
The Advertiser – Page: 26 : 25-Jul-17

The Fair Work Commission has rejected claims by the union movement for paid leave for family and domestic violence, after some months of consideration. It has also rejected applications for changes to part-time and casual employment; both measures would have served as a deterrent to employment. The FWC is now considering an application to have paid leave for giving blood to be inserted in some awards, despite blood donation being a strictly voluntary act and something that employees can do in their own time.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, BUSINESS SA, AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY

Labor extends bank probe to regulators

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 6 : 25-Jul-17

Shadow treasurer Chris Bowen will reveal on 25 July 2017 that Labor will review agencies that are involved in the regulation of the financial services sector if it wins the next federal election. He will speak at a meeting of the Financial Services Council, with Labor’s proposed review to be on top of its promised royal commission into the banking sector. The growing emergence of fintech and increased household debt are two of the reasons why Bowen will state that a review of financial services regulation is warranted.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, FINANCIAL SERVICES COUNCIL, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. COUNCIL OF FINANCIAL REGULATORS

ASIC, ATO target ‘phoenix’ advisers

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Original article by Duncan Hughes
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 24-Jul-17

Australia loses around $A3 billion a year as a result of companies being reborn, otherwise known as phoenix activity. Losses occur in areas such as taxation, salaries and superannuation payments. A taskforce comprising bodies such as the Australian Taxation Office, the Australian Securities & Investments Commission and the Fair Work Ombudsman has been formed to try to combat the impact of phoenix activities, with advisers who try to encourage business owners to " rebirth" their company one of its main targets. The Black Economy Taskforce, which is investigating the cash economy, is also developing strategies to combat phoenix activities.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK OMBUDSMAN, KPMG AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, PRICEWATERHOUSECOOPERS AUSTRALIA (INTERNATIONAL) PTY LTD

Left push widens ALP asylum split

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Original article by Troy Bramston
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 21-Jul-17

The left faction of the New South Wales branch of the Australian Labor Party will seek to have its current asylum-seeker policy abolished at its upcoming state conference. The left faction wants federal Labor to back the immediate closure of the Manus Island and Nauru detention facilities, with all their occupants to be moved to mainland Australia for processing. Labor’s opposition spokesperson for border protection and immigration Shayne Neumann is strongly against the proposal.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, SUPREME COURT OF PAPUA NEW GUINEA

Turnbull cool on ‘clean coal’ funding

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Original article by Ben Potter
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 7 : 21-Jul-17

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull had stated on 19 July 2017 that high efficiency low emissions (HELE) coal-fired power stations could help Australia to meet its emission goals set out in the Paris climate agreement. However, when asked on the following day at the Economic and Social Outlook conference whether the Federal Government would be prepared to help finance the construction of such plants, he said he would prefer if the market decided whether HELE plants had a place in Australia’s future energy mix.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY, AUSTRALIA. CLEAN ENERGY FINANCE CORPORATION, AUSTRALIAN ENERGY MARKET OPERATOR LIMITED, TESLA INCORPORATED

No respite from bracket creep for another five years

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Original article by Adam Creighton
The Australian – Page: 1 & 7 : 21-Jul-17

Professor Bob Gregory has told a conference in Melbourne that the Federal Government appears to be hoping that increased tax revenue will restore the Budget to surplus. He also noted that it had not been able to reduce expenditure in terms of its share of GDP, although it is managing to control it. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull told the conference that he hopes to reintroduce legislation to have the company tax lowered to 25 per cent by the end of 2017, while he noted that the government has prevented around 500,000 taxpayers being placed in a higher tax bracket by increasing the second-highest tax threshold by $A7,000.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

Red-faced Greens senators scrambling to prove their citizenship

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Original article by Rosie Lewis
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 20-Jul-17

The eligibility of Australian Greens MPs to hold public office continues to attract scrutiny after Scott Ludlam and Larissa Waters were forced to resign from Parliament due to their dual citizenship status. A Greens spokeswoman has indicated that party leader Richard Di Natale and Senator Nick McKim are in the process of obtaining documents to prove that they relinquished their citizenship of Italy and the UK respectively prior to being elected to Parliament.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN GREENS, TASMANIAN GREENS, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, ONE NATION PARTY, HIGH COURT OF AUSTRALIA

ALP left seeks to lift taxes, boost the ‘right to strike’

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Original article by Troy Bramston
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 20-Jul-17

Industrial relations and taxation will be on the agenda of the Australian Labor Party’s national conference in late July. The left faction of New South Wales Labor will push for the party to endorse a range of workplace reforms, including the right to strike, secondary boycotts and pattern bargaining. Other policies to be advocated by the left faction include the introduction of a universal basic wage­, an increased tax rate for high income earners and a national­ inheritance tax.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN WORKERS’ UNION-FEDERATION OF INDUSTRIAL, MANUFACTURING AND ENGINEERING EMPLOYEES, AUSTRALIAN RAIL, TRAM AND BUS INDUSTRY UNION