O75 Public Administration

Culleton to fight Senate axing

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Original article by Rosie Lewis
The Australian – Page: 2 : 12-Jan-17

Former One Nation senator Rod Culleton has been formally disqualified from holding a seat in the upper house after a court ruled that he was an undischarged bankrupt. Culleton intends to challenge the ruling, arguing that he was not insolvent and a lawyers’ trust held sufficient funds to meet his debt obligations. Culleton was declared bankrupt over $A280,000 owed to businessman Dick Lester. His eligibility to contest the 2016 election is yet to be determined by the Court of Disputed Returns.

CORPORATES
ONE NATION PARTY, COURT OF DISPUTED RETURNS, HIGH COURT OF AUSTRALIA, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA

Tax office in stunning U-turn on gold fraud

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Original article by Robert Gottliebsen
The Australian – Page: 19 : 12-Jan-17

Under the Howard government’s tax reforms, Australian gold refiners were required to pay GST on gold that is not of investment grade, although investment-grade gold in bars did not attract GST. Refiners warned the Australian Taxation Office that the system was subject to widespread fraud, which is estimated to have cost taxpayers around $A600m. The ATO targeted gold refiners, believing that they were involved in the massive tax fraud, and its actions threatened the nation’s entire refining industry. The ATO subsequently backed down in late 2016 and agreed to measures first proposed by gold refiners some three years earlier. They will now be permitted to buy high-purity gold that is not marked as being of investment grade without attracting GST.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE, FOCUS MINERALS LIMITED – ASX FML, AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT. AUSTRALIAN TRANSACTION REPORTS AND ANALYSIS CENTRE, AUSTRALIA. OFFICE OF THE INSPECTOR-GENERAL OF TAXATION, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY

Targeted tax strike on digital economy

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Original article by David Crowe, David Uren
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 11-Jan-17

The Australian Government plans to overhaul the tax system in response to the transition from a cash-based economy to digital payments. Treasurer Scott Morrison has stressed the need to ensure that the nation’s tax base is modern as well as comprehensive and reflects the shift to a digital economy. The Government also intends to crack down on the so-called "black economy", while 2017 will also see the broadening of the GST to include online purchases and new measures to counter profit-shifting by multinationals.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, NETFLIX INCORPORATED, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. PRODUCTIVITY COMMISSION, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF HUMAN SERVICES. CENTRELINK, CSIRO

Qld urged to ditch 50pc energy target

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Original article by Mark Ludlow
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 6 : 11-Jan-17

The Queensland Resources Council says the State Government should reconsider its policy of lifting renewable sources’ share of power generation from just seven per cent to 50 per cent by 2030. It argues that the focus should be on setting an appropriate target for renewables which ensures that there is no rise in electricity prices for retail customers. The QRC has also raised doubts about the number of jobs that the renewable energy industry is likely to generate.

CORPORATES
QUEENSLAND RESOURCES COUNCIL LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN ENERGY COUNCIL, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

ANZ-Roy Morgan Australian Consumer Confidence jumps to 120.1 (up 6.7pts)

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Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 11-Jan-17

ANZ-Roy Morgan Australian Consumer Confidence jumped a sharp 5.9% to 120.1 in the week ended 8 January 2017, more than reversing the decline in the last survey conducted in mid-December (post the surprisingly weak GDP reading). The headline index is now at its highest level in 15 weeks. The details were broadly upbeat. Households’ views of economic conditions over the next 12 months bounced a solid 11.2%, almost entirely reversing last month’s decline. Households’ views of the economic outlook in the next five years rose 2.2%. Meanwhile, households’ views towards their finances compared to a year ago rose 3.0% and now sits at the highest level since the end of September 2016, when the index reached a post-GFC high. Households’ views towards their future finances also improved, up 3.5% last week, and are in a strong upward trend.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ

New year headache hits PM

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Original article by Sid Maher, Simon Benson, Rosie Lewis
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 10-Jan-17

Some Coalition MPs expect that embattled Health Minister Sussan Ley will be forced to resign over the controversy regarding travel expenses. Ley’s future is uncertain after she was temporarily stood down from the ministry pending two separate inquiries into her use of travel expenses. Cabinet Secretary ­Arthur Sinodinos will assume responsibility for her portfolio until the inquiries are completed. The Opposition has called for Ley to be sacked, while a number of Coalition MPs believe that Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull should pursue a ministerial reshuffle.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF HEALTH, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FINANCE, AUSTRALIA. REMUNERATION TRIBUNAL, AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF DEFENCE, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INFRASTRUCTURE AND REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF HUMAN SERVICES

Sims slams easy route to growth

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Original article by James Thomson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 2 : 9-Jan-17

Australian Competition & Consumer Commission chairman Rod Sims argues that more local companies should be pursuing international growth rather than merely acquiring their domestic rivals. He adds that while many companies support the idea of becoming a "national champion", this has resulted in some companies dominating the domestic market rather than expanding globally. Sims has also raised the possibility of changing the criteria for approving mergers by requiring a company to prove why the deal should be allowed to proceed.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, TABCORP HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TAH, TATTS GROUP LIMITED – ASX TTS, BP AUSTRALIA LIMITED, WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, SYDNEY AIRPORT – ASX SYD, BUSINESS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, SINGTEL OPTUS PTY LTD, TPG TELECOM LIMITED – ASX TPM, VOCUS COMMUNICATIONS LIMITED – ASX VOC

Jet-setting Ley fights to keep career flying

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Original article by Rachel Baxendale
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 9-Jan-17

The future of federal Health Minister Sussan Ley remains under scrutiny amid new revelations about her reimbursement for travel expenses. It has been disclosed that Ley submitted claims for the cost of travelling to the Gold Coast on New Year’s Eve in both 2013 and 2014. Ley has agreed to repay the expenses she incurred in May 2015 for travelling from Brisbane to the Gold Coast, where she bought an apartment. She had been in Brisbane on official ministerial business at the time. The Opposition has argued that she should be sacked.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF HEALTH, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FINANCE, THE PHARMACY GUILD OF AUSTRALIA

Business Confidence down in December to 114.1 (down 2.2%) after negative Australian GDP figures released

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Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 9-Jan-17

Roy Morgan Research’s Business Confidence fell 2.2% to 114.1 in December 2016. The fall in Business Confidence occurred even as the Australian All Ordinaries rose during December – mirroring strong rises in US indices following the victory of Donald Trump in the Presidential Election. The All Ordinaries ended 2016 at 5,719.1 (up 216.7pts (+3.9%) from November 30). This month’s fall in Business Confidence means Business Confidence is now below the 6-year average (116.6) but still above the final ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence rating for 2016 of 113.4. Businesses are less confident about their prospects over the year ahead, with net expectations of business performance over the next 12 months down 3.3ppts to 27pts in December, and net views of whether the next 12 months will be a "good/bad time to invest" now 18.2pts (down 2.3ppts).

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

Growth-sapping GST must face overhaul: miners

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Original article by Sid Maher
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 9-Jan-17

The Minerals Council of Australia has used its submission to the Productivity Commission’s five-year productivity review to urge changes to the system for distributing goods and services tax revenue. The MCA argues that the current system redirects GST revenue from states that have encouraged the development of natural resources to states that place strictures on mining and energy projects. The MCA has also called for a reduction in the corporate tax rate and action to address the power of unions under the Fair Work Act.

CORPORATES
MINERALS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. PRODUCTIVITY COMMISSION, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, AUSTRALIA. COMMONWEALTH GRANTS COMMISSION, ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT