O75 Public Administration

Cranston’s long ATO career ends in court

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Original article by Joanna Mather, Misa Han
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 7 : 14-Jun-17

Australian Tax Office veteran Michael Cranston has formally resigned in the wake of revelations about a massive tax fraud that involves his son and daughter. Cranston himself was not involved in the $A130m tax fraud, but he has been charged with two counts of abuse of public office. The deputy commissioner of taxation has been suspended without pay since the tax scam was exposed, while another three ATO officials have also been suspended while the investigation into the scandal continues.

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AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE

Coalition in revolt over climate fix

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 14-Jun-17

Coalition MPs met on 13 June 2017 to discuss the Finkel energy review’s proposal to introduce a clean energy target, with sources indicating that most government ministers a and MPs stated their opposition to the CET model outlined by Chief Scientist Alan Finkel. There was widespread support in the partyroom for clean coal to be regarded as a low-emissions energy source, although this is likely to be opposed by the Australian Labor Party. Meanwhile, Labor has indicated that it will not support any move to allow the Clean Energy Finance Corporation to invest in carbon capture and storage technology.

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AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. OFFICE OF THE CHIEF SCIENTIST

Federal debt surges past half-a-trillion

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Original article by Eryk Bagshaw
The Sydney Morning Herald – Page: 4 : 14-Jun-17

The Australian Government’s gross debt has increased by $A9bn since early May 2017, to a record $A499bn. It is poised to rise above $A500bn in coming days, and it is projected to top $A663bn in 2020. The Government’s debt ceiling was increased to $A500bn by former treasurer Joe Hockey in 2013, but it was subsequently abolished later in the same year. One Nation senator Pauline Hanson and Liberal Party senator Dean Smith have urged the reintroduction of a formal debt ceiling.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, ONE NATION PARTY, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA

Finkel fires Coalition coal battle

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 6 : 13-Jun-17

The Australian Government appears to be struggling to secure backing for the Clean Energy Target (CET) proposed by Professor Alan Finkel. His recommendation involves requiring a certain percentage of electricity to be generated by low emission sources. The more conservative sections of the Liberal Party want "clean coal" to be regarded as a low emission source. However, the Australian Labor Party may not support a CET under these circumstances.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, MINERALS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, ENERGY NETWORKS ASSOCIATION OF AUSTRALIA

7-Eleven worker payouts top $110m

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Original article by Anna Patty
The Age – Page: 1 : 13-Jun-17

Convenience store chain 7-Eleven has now paid more than $A110 million to workers who were found to have been underpaid by its franchisees. Professor Allan Fels says it is of concern that fines for wage underpayment under current laws are far lower than what 7-Eleven has voluntarily paid to affected staff. Employment Minister Michaelia Cash contends that proposed changes to the Fair Work Act will help prevent future exploitation of workers, but Labor’s Brendan O’Connor says the changes are insufficient.

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7-ELEVEN STORES PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK OMBUDSMAN

Over 2.6 million Australians were unemployed or under-employed in May

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Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 13-Jun-17

Australia’s real unemployment rate was 9.8% (1.284 million Australians looking for work) in May 2017. In addition 1.338 million Australians were under-employed (10.2% of the workforce). This is a total of 2.622 million Australians (20% of the workforce) looking for work or looking for more work. In May the total Australian workforce was 13,074,000 (up 291,000 in 12 months) and employment grew to 11,790,000 (up 376,000). However, the increase in employment was almost entirely driven by a large increase in part-time employment, which rose 346,000 to 4,238,000. Full-time employment rose a modest 30,000 to 7,552,000. Roy Morgan Research executive chairman Gary Morgan says last week’s Fair Work Commission decisions to increase the minimum wage by $22 per week (+3.3%) and partly defer cuts to Sunday penalty rates over three years instead of now have dealt a significant blow to the prospect of more jobs for Australia’s unemployed and under-employed.

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ROY MORGAN RESEARCH LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS

Penalty cuts ‘not offset by wage rises’

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 4 : 9-Jun-17

ACTU secretary Sally McManus says research undertaken by the Australia Institute debunks claims that a minimum wage increase will offset Sunday penalty rate cuts. The Institute has concluded that the real value of wages earned by someone working on Sundays will decline by almost 25 per cent by June 2021. The Institute’s research was based on the assumption that inflation would increase by 2.5 per cent per annum, and that the minimum wage would rise by three per cent a year.

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ACTU, THE AUSTRALIA INSTITUTE LIMITED

Time to fix power shock

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Original article by Phillip Coorey, Mark Ludlow, Angela Macdonald-Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 9-Jun-17

Professor Alan Finkel will release his final report on energy reform on 9 June 2017. Finkel is expected to recommend adoption of a Low Emissions Target (LET) scheme as the best way forward for meeting Australia’s energy needs in a low emissions environment, but he will leave the Federal Government to decide what "carbon emission" baseline to use. He will also advise that power companies must give three years’ notice when closing down a power generator, and that storage capacity should be a feature of any "new generation investment".

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AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, MINERALS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENTS, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, ORIGIN ENERGY LIMITED – ASX ORG, ACTEWAGL, AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY, GRATTAN INSTITUTE

Donations row engulfs Turnbull’s team

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Original article by Simon Benson
The Australian – Page: 1 & 6 : 9-Jun-17

China-born billionaire Chau Chak Wing has rejected claims that he has links to the Chinese Communist Party. Chau, who has been an Australian citizen for 20 years, has hit out after he was named in a television program about overseas donations to Australian political parties. Chau says he has never tried to seek any gain from donations made by himself or his companies to political parties. He notes that both of Australia’s major parties have solicited donations from him, and it has been revealed that one of Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull’s campaign organisers approached Chau for a donation prior to the 2016 federal election.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN SECURITY INTELLIGENCE ORGANISATION, AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, COMMUNIST PARTY (CHINA)

James Comey testifies he thought Trump ‘might lie’ about meetings

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Original article by David Smith, Amanda Holpuch
The Guardian – Page: Online : 9-Jun-17

Former FBI director James Comey has told the Senate intelligence committee that he been compelled to document all meetings with President Donald Trump from the outset, due to concerns that Trump might lie about what transpired. Comey also said he had been confused about the reasons for his dismissal. He stated that he believed that it was due to the FBI’s investigation into possible Russian interferene in the 2016 presidential election, but Trump attributed it his handling of the probe into the use of a private email server by rival presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.

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UNITED STATES. FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION, UNITED STATES. EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT