O75 Public Administration

Morrison’s ‘recession’ warning

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Original article by Phillip Coorey, Jacob Greber
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 2 : 25-Aug-16

Federal Treasurer Scott Morrison will use a speech on 25 August 2016 to highlight the risks to the economy if action is not taken to address the nation’s rising debt and Budget deficit. He will warn about the dangers of allowing complacency regarding Budget repair to set in, and stress that it will be much easier to pursue necessary reforms now rather than waiting until the country goes into recession. Morrison will argue that a balanced Budget, more private investment, and increased free trade and foreign investment are essential to avoid a recession.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN GREENS

PM’s new super obstacle

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Original article by David Crowe
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 25-Aug-16

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten has signalled that the Australian Labor Party is prepared to support proposed superannuation reforms if the Federal Government agrees to further compromises. Labor wants the lifetime cap on non-concessional contributions to apply from 2016 rather than 2007. It will also push for the threshold for an increase in the contributions tax to be reduced to $A200,000 rather than $A250,000 as proposed by the Government. At present, people earning at least $A300,000 a year pay a contributions tax of 30 per cent instead of 15 per cent.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FINANCE, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, GRATTAN INSTITUTE

Roy Morgan partners with New Zealanders for Health Research for important report on Kiwi attitudes to health and medical research

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Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 24-Aug-16

Asked to consider what issues their government should be focusing on over the next couple of years, 90 per cent of New Zealanders rated "improving hospitals and the healthcare system" as one of the key priorities. Other health-related matters such as "more funding for health and medical research" and "increasing preventative healthcare funding and programmes" also featured among their top 10 concerns. This is just one of the many findings revealed in New Zealand Speaks, the inaugural report from New Zealanders for Health Research, which was conducted by Roy Morgan Research to chart the attitudes of New Zealanders to health and medical research. This important nationwide opinion poll will be launched in Wellington on 24 August 2016. Joining forces with Roy Morgan was a logical move for the organisation. With decades of experience carrying out complex, customised research surveys, Roy Morgan’s involvement in New Zealand Speaks ensures that the report contains only the most accurate and reliable insights into how Kiwis feel about health and medical research. Roy Morgan also conducted a similar poll in 2015 for Research Australia, sister organisation to New Zealanders for Health Research – which means that both groups can now make meaningful comparisons between their results.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN RESEARCH LIMITED, NEW ZEALANDERS FOR HEALTH RESEARCH, RESEARCH AUSTRALIA LIMITED

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence jumps to near three-year high of 121.8 (up 4.2pts) during Olympics

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Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 24-Aug-16

ANZ-Roy Morgan Australian Consumer Confidence rose by 3.6 per cent to 121.8 in the week ending 21 August 2016, to its highest level since November 2013. The improvement in confidence was broadly-based. Households’ views of the economic outlook in the next 12 months rose by 5.4 per cent, while consumers’ views of their current and future finances rose by 1.3 per cent and 1.4 per cent respectively.

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

Bureaucrats eye $1m pay despite flat wage growth

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Original article by David Uren, Sarah Elks
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 24-Aug-16

New figures show that the annual remuneration of many senior federal public servants have risen significantly since 2008. The secretary of the Department of Prime Minister & Cabinet, Martin Parkinson, is paid $A861,700 each year, while Treasury secretary John Fraser is paid $A840,810. Both salaries are much higher than the remuneration of their predecessors during the global financial crisis. Public servants in many states have also enjoyed strong growth wages over the last eight years.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIA. REMUNERATION TRIBUNAL, AUSTRALIAN FEDERAL POLICE, AUSTRALIAN SECURITY INTELLIGENCE ORGANISATION, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD

Super contributions slump after reforms unveiled

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Original article by Michael Roddan
The Australian – Page: 6 : 24-Aug-16

Data from the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority shows that personal contributions to superannuation funds fell by 11.3 per cent, or $A811m, in the June 2016 quarter. The Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia’s acting CEO Jim Minto says the figures could indicate that confidence in the super system has been undermined by the uncertainty surrounding the Federal Government’s proposed super reforms.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, THE ASSOCIATION OF SUPERANNUATION FUNDS OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED, FINANCIAL SERVICES COUNCIL, AMP LIMITED – ASX AMP, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA

Drums beat on $6b Snowy Hydro sale

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Original article by Ben Potter, Lucille Keen, Angela Macdonald-Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 24-Aug-16

The Federal Goverment has downplayed media reports which suggested that it is considering the privatisation of Snowy Hydro as part of its strategy to balance the Budget. Snowy Hydro is estimated to be worth around $A6bn, which would value the Federal Government’s 13 per cent stake about about $A800m. The Government had rejected the National Commission of Audit’s 2014 recommendation to privatise Snowy Hydro, while a previous sale proposal in 2006 caused disunity within the Coalition.

CORPORATES
SNOWY HYDRO LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FINANCE, AUSTRALIA. NATIONAL COMMISSION OF AUDIT, NEW SOUTH WALES. THE TREASURY, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA

Labor: pass our budget cuts too

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 24-Aug-16

The Australian Government’s $A6.5bn spending cuts will be presented to Parliament in a single bill. The Australian Labor Party has yet to decide its position on several of the 21 measures in the "omnibus" bill, but Opposition Leader Bill Shorten says that if the Government wants Labor’s support for its spending cuts it should in turn vote in favour of the $A8.1bn worth of cuts that Labor has proposed. Meanwhile, the proposed lifetime cap on non-concessional superannuation contributions will be increased to $A750,000 after Treasurer Scott Morrison reached a compromise with Coalition MPs, although it will still be backdated to 2007.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FINANCE, NATIONAL PRESS CLUB (AUSTRALIA), AUSTRALIAN RENEWABLE ENERGY AGENCY, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, AUSTRALIA. PARLIAMENTARY BUDGET OFFICE

Coalition cuts add $221bn to budget

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Original article by David Crowe
The Australian – Page: 4 : 23-Aug-16

Finance Minister Mathias Cormann has indicated that the Budget bottom line will be boosted by $A26bn over the next four years, due to spending cuts that have been made since the Coalition took office in 2013. The Coalition also estimates that spending cuts could potentially bolster the Budget by about $A221bn over the next decade or so. Cormann has also urged the Australian Labor Party to support some $A6.5bn worth of spending cuts that it did not oppose during the 2016 election campaign.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FINANCE, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Jobs growth makes for murky reading in census aftermath

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Original article by Philip Baker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 30 : 19-Aug-16

New data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows that the economy added 71,600 part-time jobs in July 2016, although it shed 45,000 full-time positions. Currency traders responded positively to the net gain of more than 26,000 jobs, with the Australian dollar peaking at $US0.7720 in local trading on 18 August. However, Kate Hicks of Capital Economics notes that some of the jobs would have been temporary ones associated with the census.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS, CAPITAL ECONOMICS LIMITED, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, UNITED STATES. FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD