O75 Public Administration

Economic Issues the key to the Federal Election

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Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Morgan Poll Update – Page: Online : 20-May-16

A special Roy Morgan telephone survey, which was carried out on 4-5 May 2016, has found that 42 per cent of Australians aged 14+ regard Economic and Financial Issues as the most important set of problems facing the nation. This has increased by four per cent since October 2015. The survey also shows that 13 per cent of Australians rate Religion/Immigration/Human Rights Issues as the biggest problems facing the country (down three per cent). Meanwhile, 25 per cent of Australians identified Environmental Issues as the biggest problems facing the world (up four per cent).

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN RESEARCH LIMITED

Stop digging, we’re deep enough in this fiscal hole

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Original article by Judith Sloan
The Weekend Australian – Page: 24 : 21-May-16

The Australian Government’s policies means the nation faces cumulative budget deficits of $A85bn over the next four years, although this is based on GDP and revenue projections that are unlikely to be realised. The May 2016 Budget papers also show that the deficit will blow out to $A584bn in 2019-20, compared with $A499bn in 2016-17. Australia is almost certain to lose its triple-A credit rating long before 2025-26, when the deficit will top $A647bn. However, the Australian Labor Party’s election policies would ensure that the Budget is even worse off than under a Coalition government.

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

Labor’s $8b budget drag

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Original article by Laura Tingle
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 23-May-16

The Federal Opposition estimates that its proposal to abolish the pharmaceutical co-payment will cost nearly $A1bn over four years. The co-payment was outlined in the Australian Government’s 2014 Budget but has been stalled in the Senate. The Opposition has now announced some $A8bn worth of election promises in the areas of health and education. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has called on Opposition Leader Bill Shorten to outline how the Australian Labor Party will fund its spending promises, arguing that it cannot do so without tax increases.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. PARLIAMENTARY BUDGET OFFICE, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY

Double-dippers stand by rules

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Original article by Jared Owens, Rebecca Puddy, Sid Maher
The Australian – Page: 1 & 6 : 23-May-16

Some 52 past and current MPs have declared a financial interest in residential properties in Canberra since the 2013 federal election. While the majority have not replied to enquiries as to whether they had claimed a travel allowance for staying in their Canberra home, Australian Labor Party MP Brendan O’Connor is the only one to have stated that he did not make such a claim. Five MPs have acknowledged that they have claimed both the travel allowance and a tax deduction associated with their Canberra home.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, LIBERAL DEMOCRATIC PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FINANCE, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE, AUSTRALIAN GREENS

Macca’s workers underpaid by millions

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Original article by Ben Schneiders, Nick Toscano, Royce Millar
The Age – Page: 1 : 20-May-16

Fast-food group McDonald’s is the latest Australian company to be embroiled in a wages scandal. An investigation has revealed that many McDonald’s staff are on wages that are below the award rate when penalty rates are taken into account, due to an enterprise agreement that the Shop, Distributive & Allied Employees’ Association negotiated in 2013. Penalty rates for working on weekends are excluded from the agreement.

CORPORATES
McDONALD’S AUSTRALIA LIMITED, SHOP, DISTRIBUTIVE AND ALLIED EMPLOYEES’ ASSOCIATION, 7-ELEVEN STORES PTY LTD, COLES SUPERMARKETS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, NATIONAL TERTIARY EDUCATION INDUSTRY UNION, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION

Business to push Turnbull tax cuts

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 10 : 20-May-16

The Business Council of Australia will spearhead a campaign by business groups to promote the Australian Government’s proposal to progressively reduce the company tax rate to 25 per cent. The BCA has not become directly involved in a federal election campaign since 2007. The advertising campaign is expected to embrace traditional and online media, and be launched at around the mid-point of the election campaign.

CORPORATES
BUSINESS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF IMMIGRATION AND BORDER PROTECTION, AUSTRALIAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF HUMAN SERVICES. MEDICARE AUSTRALIA, JWS RESEARCH PTY LTD

AFP raids Conroy’s office, ALP adviser’s house

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Original article by David Crowe
The Australian – Page: 1 & 9 : 20-May-16

The Opposition’s legal affairs spokesman Mark Dreyfus says an Australian Federal Police raid on the office of senator Stephen Conroy may be unprecedented. Police are believed to have been seeking leaked documents concerning the national broadband network. The raids also included the home of Andy Byrne, an adviser to Labor communications spokesman Jason Clare and a former aide of Conroy during his tenure as communications minister.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN FEDERAL POLICE, NBN CO LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FINANCE

Unions break ranks in fight to maintain penalty rates

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 2 : 20-May-16

Victorian Trades Hall Council secretary Luke Hilakari favours adding penalty rates to the National Employment Standards if the Fair Work Commission reduces weekend rates. The Australian Greens have proposed legislation to protect penalty rates if they are cut by the FWC, although this is opposed by both the Federal Opposition and the ACTU. Employment Minister Michaelia Cash has stressed that governments should not intervene on penalty rates.

CORPORATES
VICTORIAN TRADES HALL COUNCIL, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, ACTU, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT, AUSTRALIAN WORKERS’ UNION-FEDERATION OF INDUSTRIAL, MANUFACTURING AND ENGINEERING EMPLOYEES, ELECTRICAL TRADES UNION

Master Builders slams pay deal with CFMEU

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 19-May-16

Employees of some building industry contractors in Victoria will receive an annual pay rise of five per cent after securing a deal with the Construction, Forestry, Mining & Energy Union. Master Builders has expressed concern about the above-inflation wage rise and signalled that it is unlikely to endorse the deal. Some industry players have suggested that the contractors agreed to the deal as they feared facing even more demands from the CFMEU if the Australian Labor Party wins the federal election.

CORPORATES
CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, THE MASTER BUILDERS ASSOCIATION OF VICTORIA, MASTER BUILDERS AUSTRALIA INCORPORATED, AUSTANNERS PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT, FAIR WORK BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA

Low wage growth sparks bleak outlook

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Original article by David Uren
The Australian – Page: 7 : 19-May-16

The Department of the Treasury will release its pre-election economic and fiscal outlook on 20 May 2016. It is not expected to make any significant changes to the forecasts in the May 2016 Budget, although the outlook report is likely to highlight the risks to the Budget if the forecasts are not met. Slowing wages growth is looming as a key risk for the Budget, which has forecast wages growth of 2.25 per cent in 2015-16 and 2.5 per cent in 2016-17. Wages grew by just 2.1 per cent over the last year.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AMP LIMITED – ASX AMP, JP MORGAN AUSTRALIA LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY