O75 Public Administration

Australian debt control worst in G20: report

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Original article by Adam Creighton
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 27-Jul-16

A Peterson Institute for International Economics report notes that Australia’s debt-to-GDP ratio has risen by 27.1 per cent since the global financial crisis. This is not much lower than the average increase recorded by developed nations such as the US, the UK, Japan and Italy. The report’s author, Paolo Mauro, concludes that Australia could have cleared its net debt and Budget deficit if real government spending had not significantly outpaced that of other major Group of 20 nations over the last eight years.

CORPORATES
PETER G PETERSON INSTITUTE FOR INTERNATIONAL ECONOMICS, GROUP OF TWENTY (G-20), INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, STANDARD AND POOR’S CORPORATION

Harper slams effects test critics

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Original article by Michael Roddan
The Australian – Page: 21 : 26-Jul-16

Professor Ian Harper has expressed his support for the introduction of the "effects test" into Section 46 of the Competition & Consumer Act. He has accused critics of the proposed new regulation of misrepresenting its nature. Harper strongly objects to describing the test as a form of protectionism and rejects such criticism as "wilful distortion."

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, AUSTRALIA. PRODUCTIVITY COMMISSION

Games site hostage to union ‘ploy’

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Original article by Sarah Elks
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 26-Jul-16

The Federal Court has been told that stopwork action at a key 2018 Commonwealth Games construction site was unlawful and unconscionable. Fair Work Building & Construction claims that the industrial action by the Construction, Forestry, Mining & Energy Union was designed to get lead contractor Hansen Yuncken to accept a new enterprise bargaining agreement. The CFMEU says the two-hour stopwork meetings – which were held twice a day – were needed to inform workers about the Coalition’s proposed industrial relations reforms in the lead-up to the federal election.

CORPORATES
CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, FAIR WORK BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, HANSEN YUNCKEN PTY LTD, BROOKFIELD MULTIPLEX LIMITED, HUTCHINSON BUILDERS, AUSTRALIAN BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION COMMISSION, AUSTRALIA. OFFICE OF THE FAIR WORK BUILDING INDUSTRY INSPECTORATE

Turnbull throws down the gauntlet on IR reform

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Original article by Joe Kelly
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 26-Jul-16

The Fair Work Commission is tipped to announce the outcome of its review of weekend penalty rates in sectors such as hospitality and retail in September 2016. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has indicated that the Federal Government will abide by the FWC’s decision and will not intervene, despite being urged by Opposition Leader Bill Shorten to make a joint submission to the review. Turnbull in turn has called on Shorten to support proposed legislation to outlaw the payment of "corrupting benefits" by employers to unions in return for surrendering employee entitlements such as penalty rates.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, COLES SUPERMARKETS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, SHOP, DISTRIBUTIVE AND ALLIED EMPLOYEES’ ASSOCIATION, AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO TRADE UNION GOVERNANCE AND CORRUPTION, VICTORIA. COUNTRY FIRE AUTHORITY, AUSTRALIAN WORKERS’ UNION-FEDERATION OF INDUSTRIAL, MANUFACTURING AND ENGINEERING EMPLOYEES, CLEANEVENT PTY LTD

Over-55s could add $78b in GDP

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Original article by Lucille Keen
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 7 : 25-Jul-16

A new study by PwC shows that Australia is ranked 16th among OECD nations in terms of retaining older employees in the workforce. The PwC Golden Age Index estimates that the nation’s GDP could be boosted by 4.7 per cent by ensuring that more older people – particularly the 55+ age group – remain in the workforce. This would equate to an annual increase in GDP of about $A78bn. Jeremy Thorpe of PwC warns that it would take about 10 years to achieve such an increase in GDP via measures aimed at lifting workforce participation among older age groups.

CORPORATES
PRICEWATERHOUSECOOPERS, ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF HUMAN SERVICES. CENTRELINK, UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE

G20 growth target ends in failure

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Original article by David Uren
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 25-Jul-16

The Group of 20 finance ministers have reiterated their commitment to a global economic growth target. This is despite new projections showing that the two per cent growth target for 2018 set at the G20 summit in Brisbane in 2014 is unlikely to be achieved. Australian Treasurer Scott Morrison and his predecessor Joe Hockey say this growth target is still relevant. Adam Triggs of the Australian National University says the latest forecasts from the International Monetary Fund suggest that the global economy will be worth $US117.7trn by 2018, rather than the target of $US123.9trn set in 2014.

CORPORATES
GROUP OF TWENTY (G-20), AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND, AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF HUMAN SERVICES. MEDICARE AUSTRALIA, SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES

Draft super laws to be released before parliament sits

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Original article by David Crowe
The Australian – Page: 1 & 5 : 22-Jul-16

The Australian Government will release draft legislation for its proposed superannuation reforms prior to the resumption of Parliament on 30 August 2016. It will also consult with industry experts before the legislation is presented to the Coaltion’s party-room. The draft legislation is expected to largely reflect the super policies outlined in the May 2016 Budget. Treasurer Scott Morrison will resist efforts to drop measures such as the life-time cap on non-concessional contributions, but some crossbenchers argue that the policies that were taken to the federal election should be put before Parliament.

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

Joyce cuts off LNP bid to split

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Original article by Michael McKenna, Sarah Martin
The Australian – Page: 1 & 5 : 22-Jul-16

The growing unrest within the Liberal-National Party of Queensland regarding its reduced representation in federal cabinet has prompted dissidents to push for a separate party-room in Canberra. The LNP has also proposed to negotiate its own coalition agreement with the Liberal Party of Australia. The state executive has rejected the motion by a margin of just four votes. A split between the National Party of Australia and the LNP would reduce the former’s party-room from 22 members to 14.

CORPORATES
LIBERAL-NATIONAL PARTY OF QUEENSLAND, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT

Super fix comes at cost

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 6 : 21-Jul-16

The Australian Government will allow exemptions to its proposed $A500,000 lifetime cap on non-concessional superannuation contributions, to take into account "life events" such as a divorce settlement or an inheritance. The cap had been expected to generate Budget savings of about $A550m over four years, but some estimates have suggested that the exemptions could potentially cost between $A300m and $A450m. Meanwhile, shadow treasurer Chris Bowen has stressed that any super reforms must not be retrospective. The Government plans to backdate the lifetime cap to 2007.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, FINANCIAL SERVICES COUNCIL, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA

Labor to reject mandate on IR

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Original article by Joe Kelly
The Australian – Page: 4 : 21-Jul-16

The Australian Government continues to be criticised over its failure to respond to the Productivity Commission’s review of industrial relations laws. The Opposition argues that the Coalition does not have a mandate to pursue workplace reforms during its second term in office as it did not respond to the report prior to the 2016 election. The report, which was released in late 2015, makes 70 recommendations on changes to workplace laws. Business groups have urged the Coalition to pursue IR reforms.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. PRODUCTIVITY COMMISSION, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT, THE AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY GROUP, AUSTRALIAN BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION COMMISSION, VICTORIA. COUNTRY FIRE AUTHORITY