O75 Public Administration

L-NP support slumps amid Bronwyn Bishop travel expense ‘misconduct’ and as the ALP commits to renewable energy & ‘turn back the boats’ policy

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Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Morgan Poll Update – Page: Online : 27-Jul-15

A multi-mode Morgan Poll on Federal voting intention has found that support for Australia’s ruling Liberal-National Coalition on a two-party preferred basis has fallen by three per cent to 46 per cent. The poll, which was carried out on the weekends of 18-19 and 25-26 July 2015, also shows that the Coalition’s primary vote has fallen by 2.5 per cent to 39 per cent, while the Roy Morgan Government Confidence Rating has risen by 0.5 points to 91 points. Roy Morgan Research executive chairman Gary Morgan says the Coalition Government has no alternative but to show the electorate how it will grow the economy and provide more jobs, and the answer is not a higher GST or an increase in the Medicare levy.

CORPORATES
MORGAN POLL, ROY MORGAN RESEARCH LIMITED, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, KATTER’S AUSTRALIAN PARTY, PALMER UNITED PARTY, AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO TRADE UNION GOVERNANCE AND CORRUPTION, NEW SOUTH WALES. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET, VICTORIA. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET

Shorten loss on gay marriage

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 6 : 27-Jul-15

The Australian Labor Party’s National Conference has endorsed the policy of Opposition Leader Bill Shorten to turn back asylum-seeker boats. Meanwhile, conference delegates have voted in favour of giving Labor MPs a conscience vote on the issue of same-sex marriage, although this will be limited to the current and next term of parliament. Shorten has committed to legalising same-sex marriage within 100 days if Labor wins the next federal election. Labor’s policy on a renewable energy target and an emissions trading scheme were also endorsed.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, NATIONAL UNION OF WORKERS, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF IMMIGRATION AND BORDER PROTECTION

New front in war over super governance

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Original article by Jennifer Hewett
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 2 : 27-Jul-15

The Federal Government’s proposed superannuation reforms have been criticised by Industry Super Australia in its submission to Assistant Treasurer Josh Frydenberg. The reforms will require one-third of super fund directors, and the chairman, to be independent, while employers and unions will no longer need to have representatives on the board. ISA argues that under the current governance model industry funds’ returns have generally been higher than those of retail funds.

CORPORATES
INDUSTRY SUPER AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, HOST-PLUS, NATIONAL SENIORS AUSTRALIA LIMITED, MASTER BUILDERS AUSTRALIA INCORPORATED

Surprise wins in TPP deal: Robb

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Original article by John Garnaut
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 27-Jul-15

Australia’s Trade Minister Andrew Robb is confident that a deal on the proposed Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) will be finalised in the last week of July 2015, after five years of negotiations. Robb says the nation’s agricultural sector is set to benefit from the TPP, but he adds that the biggest beneficiaries could include service industries such as the legal and education sectors. Robb also expects the mining equipment and services sector to benefit from the deal.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND TRADE, TRANS-PACIFIC PARTNERSHIP, WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION, GENERAL AGREEMENT ON TARIFFS AND TRADE, NORTH AMERICAN FREE TRADE AGREEMENT, AUSTMINE LIMITED, UNITED STATES. EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT, GEKKO SYSTEMS PTY LTD, ORICA LIMITED – ASX ORI, MONADELPHOUS GROUP LIMITED – ASX MND, AUSDRILL LIMITED – ASX ASL, AUSENCO LIMITED – ASX AAX, WORLEYPARSONS LIMITED – ASX WOR, SINCLAIR KNIGHT MERZ PTY LTD

Defamation laws need overhaul: judge

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Original article by Marianna Papadakis
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 32 : 24-Jul-15

New South Wales District Court judge Judith Gibson notes that social media has contributed to a rise in defamation lawsuits in Australia. Justice Gibson says federal Treasurer Joe Hockey’s case against Fairfax Media demonstrates the need for reforms to defamation laws. She argues that the definition of what constitutes a publication needs to be reconsidered in the digital age, while rules governing the awarding of damages need to be revised in order to discourage minor claims.

CORPORATES
DISTRICT COURT OF NEW SOUTH WALES, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, MINTER ELLISON, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, TWITTER INCORPORATED, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED

Number might be up for low-cost online imports

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Original article by Fleur Anderson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 5 : 24-Jul-15

GST revenue could rise by about $A1.7bn annually within five years after the Council of Australian Governments agreed to reduce the tax-exempt threshold for goods purchased from offshore websites from $A1,000 to just $A20. Australian Chamber of Commerce & Industry CEO Kate Carnell says the move will reduce the unfair advantage that online retailers based overseas enjoy at the expense of local retailers.

CORPORATES
COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENTS, AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY, RETAIL COUNCIL LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. PRODUCTIVITY COMMISSION

Australians are evenly divided over Tony Abbott or Bill Shorten as PM – both leaders unpopular

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Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Morgan Poll Update – Page: Online : 23-Jul-15

A special telephone Morgan Poll has found that Prime Minister Tony Abbott’s rating as the "Better PM" has fallen by two per cent to 42 per cent since April 2015. The poll, which was carried out from 20-22 July, also shows that Opposition Leader Bill Shorten’s rating as the "Better PM" has risen by two per cent to 41 per cent. The proportion of electors who disapprove of Abbott’s handling of his job as Prime Minister has risen by six per cent to 59 per cent. Roy Morgan Research executive chairman Gary Morgan notes that 60 per cent of electors now disapprove of Shorten’s handling of his job as Opposition Leader, while the number of electors who approve of his handling of the job has fallen to a record low of 24 per cent.

CORPORATES
MORGAN POLL, ROY MORGAN RESEARCH LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

ASIC set for full-scale review

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Original article by Sarah Thompson, Jonathan Shapiro, James Eyers
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 6 : 24-Jul-15

The Federal Government will complete a "capability review" of the Australian Securities & Investments Commission (ASIC) by the end of 2015. The review will be carried out by an expert panel comprising Karen Chester, Mark Gray and lawyer David Galbally. The financial system inquiry’s recommendations included carrying out regular capability reviews of the nation’s key regulatory agencies. The Government provides ASIC with about $A300m in funding each year.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIA. PRODUCTIVITY COMMISSION, QUEENSLAND. TREASURY

Abbott supported as Liberal Leader by only 13% and Shorten as ALP Leader by only 12%

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Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Morgan Poll Update – Page: Online : 23-Jul-15

A telephone Morgan Poll has found that 13 per cent of Australian electors prefer Prime Minister Tony Abbott as Liberal Leader, an increase of one per cent. However, Malcolm Turnbull is preferred by 44 per cent of electors (an increase of six per cent). The poll, which was carried out from 20-22 July 2015, also shows that the number of electors who prefer Opposition Leader Bill Shorten as Australian Labor Party Leader has fallen by nine per cent to 12 per cent. In contrast, 26 per cent of electors prefer Deputy Labor Leader Tanya Plibersek (up three per cent).

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN RESEARCH LIMITED, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

Tabcorp faces trial, fines over money laundering

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Original article by Perry Williams, Patrick Durkin
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 7 : 23-Jul-15

The Australian Transaction Reports & Analysis Centre claims that Tabcorp breached money-laundering reporting laws on at least 100 separate occasions. It has launched civil action against the gaming group in the Federal Court, alleging that Tabcorp failed to report suspect transactions that were made via TAB betting accounts. Tabcorp could face fines of up to $A17m, although Deutsche Bank notes that the group could potentially be fined up to $A51m in total as two subsidiaries are also subject to the legal action.

CORPORATES
TABCORP HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TAH, AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT. AUSTRALIAN TRANSACTION REPORTS AND ANALYSIS CENTRE, DEUTSCHE BANK AG, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, NATIONAL RUGBY LEAGUE, NORTH QUEENSLAND COWBOYS, BULLDOGS RUGBY LEAGUE CLUB LIMITED, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, LEND LEASE GROUP LIMITED – ASX LLC, ASX LIMITED – ASX ASX, SUNCORP GROUP LIMITED – ASX SUN, NBN CO LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, NEW SOUTH WALES POLICE FORCE, AUSTRALIAN FEDERAL POLICE, VICTORIA. OFFICE OF POLICE INTEGRITY, DOW JONES SUSTAINABILITY INDEX