O75 Public Administration

Patrick bid to end dispute on enterprise agreement

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 10 : 24-Jun-16

Stevedoring firm Patrick wants the Fair Work Commission to intervene in a dispute over a new enterprise agreement with the Maritime Union of Australia. Patrick will ask the commission to order the union to respond to the company’s proposal, which was made in April 2016. The union criticised the move but it said it has no plans to put pressure on the company through industrial action before the federal election on 2 July.

CORPORATES
PATRICK CORPORATION LIMITED, ASCIANO LIMITED – ASX AIO, MARITIME UNION OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION

Keating slams unaffordable tax cut

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Original article by Jacob Greber
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 7 : 24-Jun-16

Former prime minister Paul Keating has criticised the Coalition’s proposal to progressively cut the corporate tax rate from 30 per cent to 25 per cent. He described the tax cut as irresponsible and unaffordable. Keating warned that it would damage Australia’s fiscal position because of lower tax revenue. According to Paul Abbey, a partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers, low corporate taxes are necessary to attract foreign investment, although it can take decades for the benefits of such a policy to be noticeable.

CORPORATES
PRICEWATERHOUSECOOPERS, BUSINESS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, VICTORIA UNIVERSITY, AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY. CRAWFORD SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS AND GOVERNMENT, LOWY INSTITUTE FOR INTERNATIONAL POLICY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, UNIVERSITY OF NEW SOUTH WALES

RBA warning on Brexit

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Original article by Phillip Coorey, James Chessell
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 24-Jun-16

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull says there will be a global economic shock if the UK votes to leave the European Union, adding that the Coalition is best-placed to manage the Australian economy during such turmoil. Meanwhile, both major political parties have been briefed by the heads of the Reserve Bank, the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority and the Treasury on the likely impact of a "Brexit" on the local financial market. The outcome of the referendum is tipped to be very close.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, GREAT BRITAIN. OFFICE OF THE PRIME MINISTER, EUROPEAN COMMISSION, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA

Turnbull vows new laws to protect CFA volunteers

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Original article by Matthew Knott, Richard Willingham, Nicole Hasham
The Age – Page: 6 : 24-Jun-16

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull visited the seat of Corangamite in Victoria on 23 June 2016, where he said that amending the Fair Work Act to protect volunteer firefighters will be a priority for the Coalition if it is re-elected. Turnbull praised the Country Fire Authority, which is the subject of a power grab by the United Firefighters Union. Meanwhile, Opposition Leader Bill Shorten reiterated that the CFA dispute is a state issue, and suggested that Turnbull has only intervened due to the federal election.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, VICTORIA. COUNTRY FIRE AUTHORITY, UNITED FIREFIGHTERS’ UNION OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

‘Mediscare’ delivers poll boost for Labor

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

The Australian Labor Party believes that it could gain more seats than expected in the 2016 federal election due to concerns about the privatisation of Medicare under a Coalition government. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull sought to deflect attention from Medicare on 23 June by continuing to warn of an influx of asylum seekers if Labor wins the election, while Opposition Leader Bill Shorten reiterated that Labor will protect weekend penalty rates.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF HUMAN SERVICES. MEDICARE AUSTRALIA, NICK XENOPHON TEAM, RETAIL TRADERS ASSOCIATION, VICTORIA. COUNTRY FIRE AUTHORITY, VICTORIA. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET

Fears 7-Eleven workers could be left in cold

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Original article by Anna Patty
The Age – Page: 21 : 23-Jun-16

A 7-Eleven store in Brisbane has been ordered to pay a penalty of more than $A400,000 for worker exploitation. An investigation by the Fair Work Ombudsman revealed that 12 employees were underpaid more than $A82,000. Maurice Blackburn’s Brisbane employment principal Giri Sivaraman has warned that the owner of the store could opt for bankruptcy, depriving the affected workers of their compensation.

CORPORATES
7-ELEVEN STORES PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK OMBUDSMAN, MAURICE BLACKBURN PTY LTD

CFA deal pushed back until after poll result

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Original article by Lucille Keen
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 9 : 23-Jun-16

The board of Victoria’s Country Fire Authority (CFA) has decided to delay the implementation of the United Firefighters Union’s enterprise agreement until 8 July 2016. The State Government insists that the CFA board must accept the agreement. Volunteer firefighters have raised objections to a number of provisions in the agreement. Federal Employment Minister Michaelia Cash said the Coalition will prevent the implementation of the deal if it is re-elected.

CORPORATES
VICTORIA. COUNTRY FIRE AUTHORITY, UNITED FIREFIGHTERS’ UNION OF AUSTRALIA, SUPREME COURT OF VICTORIA, VICTORIA. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT, AUSTRALIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

Labor preferences agreement splits conservatives

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Original article by David Crowe
The Australian – Page: 6 : 23-Jun-16

The Liberal Democratic Party has secured a preferences deal with the Australian Labor Party in a number of marginal seats that are currently held by the Coalition. The LDP’s Senator David Leyonhjelm says the Liberal Party has not directed preferences to him, despite the fact that he voted with the Coalition more than any other crossbencher during the last Parliament. Meanwhile, the Family First Party is directing its preferences to the Coalition in all of the seats in which it has a candidate.

CORPORATES
LIBERAL DEMOCRATIC PARTY, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, FAMILY FIRST PARTY AUSTRALIA LIMITED, NICK XENOPHON TEAM, CHRISTIAN DEMOCRATIC PARTY, SHOOTERS, FISHERS AND FARMERS PARTY

The boats v Medicare fear election

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 6 : 23-Jun-16

The future of Medicare was again under scrutiny on 22 June 2016, with Opposition Leader Bill Shorten describing the universal healthcare system as a "birthright" of Australians. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has reiterated that his government will seek to overhaul the Medicare payments system rather than outsourcing it. Turnbull has also attempted to divert attention from claims about the privatisation of Medicare by warning that the Australian Labor Party’s border protection policies would result in an influx of asylum seekers.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF HUMAN SERVICES. MEDICARE AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF IMMIGRATION AND BORDER PROTECTION, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION LIMITED

‘Honest Government’ and ‘Managing the Economy’ the biggest issues in Higgins, Indi, Mayo & Menzies

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Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Morgan Poll Update – Page: Online : 21-Jun-16

A Snap SMS Roy Morgan ‘issues’ survey has found that ‘Honest Government’ (30 per cent) and ‘Managing the Economy’ (24 per cent) are regarded as the key issues for electors in the four key seats of Higgins, Indi, Mayo and Menzies two weeks before the 2016 Federal Election. The electorates’ ranking of issues today are very different than those found by a Roy Morgan ‘issues’ survey conducted over the 30 months since the last Federal Election in September 2013. Over the period before the Federal Election was called the main issues in the electorates were ‘Keeping day-to-day living costs down’ (31 per cent), ‘Improving health services and hospitals’ (27 per cent), ‘Managing the economy’ (23 per cent) and ‘Improving education’ (20 per cent). Electors were shown a list of issues and asked: "Which three issues are most important to you".

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN RESEARCH LIMITED, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, NICK XENOPHON TEAM