O75 Public Administration

Support for 12.5pc GST if stamp duty abolished

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Original article by Joanna Mather
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 13-Jul-15

An online survey that was undertaken on behalf of the Property Council of Australia has found that 64 per cent of respondents would be in favour of abolishing stamp duty in return for an increase in the GST to 12.5 per cent. Meanwhile, 68 per cent expressed a preference for an income tax cut to offset the impact of a higher GST. Some 64 per cent of respondents identified stamp duty as the nation’s most unfair tax, ahead of land tax and personal income tax.

CORPORATES
PROPERTY COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED, BAPTIST CARE AUSTRALIA LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

Abbott lines up double-D unions poll

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Original article by Phillip Coorey, Patrick Durkin
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1& 6 : 13-Jul-15

The Australian Government plans to use the Registered Organisations Commission Bill as one of two potential triggers for a double-dissolution election. Officials of unions and employers’ groups who are found to be corrupt will be subject to the penalties that currently apply to corporate executives. The Government will also reintroduce its bill on the Australian Building & Construction Commission to the Senate when parliament resumes in August 2015.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION COMMISSION, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO TRADE UNION GOVERNANCE AND CORRUPTION, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT, AUSTRALIAN ELECTORAL COMMISSION

Shorten warned to stop dodging questions

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 10-Jul-15

Federal Opposition Leader Bill Shorten fronted the Royal Commission Into Trade Union Governance & Corruption for a second day on 9 July 2015. Shorten was questioned about Thiess John Holland’s payment of $A300,000 to the Australian Workers’ Union during his tenure as national secretary. He told the commission that he could not recollect discussing the deal, and rejected suggestions that the union had issued fake invoices to the builder in return for the payments.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO TRADE UNION GOVERNANCE AND CORRUPTION, AUSTRALIAN WORKERS’ UNION-FEDERATION OF INDUSTRIAL, MANUFACTURING AND ENGINEERING EMPLOYEES, THIESS JOHN HOLLAND, ACI, HUNTSMAN CHEMICAL COMPANY AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, CHIQUITA MUSHROOMS PTY LTD

Job figures spur speculation the worst is over

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Original article by Jacob Greber
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 8 : 10-Jul-15

New data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows that the economy added 120,700 jobs during the first six months of 2015, with an average of 20,000 new jobs created each month. The unemployment rate was six per cent in June, prompting the Reserve Bank to note in its latest monetary policy statement that unemployment has ceased rising. Paul Bloxham of HSBC says the jobs data will make further interest rate cuts less likely in the near-term.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, HSBC AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS PTY LTD, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY

Purchasing power dives on lower $A

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Original article by Jacob Greber
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 8-Jul-15

Australians may face a significant reduction in their living standards in coming years, due to factors such as a lower currency, slowing growth in wages and falling revenue from commodities. Australian households ranked fifth in the world in terms of global purchasing power in 2014. However, Deutsche Bank economist Adam Boyton expects the nation to be ranked in ninth position in 2015, and 17th within two years. The bearish forecast is based on data from the International Monetary Fund.

CORPORATES
DEUTSCHE BANK AG, INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY

Shorten’s popularity plummets

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Original article by Laura Tingle
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 6-Jul-15

Support for the federal Australian Labor Party on a two-party preferred basis is steady at 53 per cent in the latest Fairfax-Ipsos poll, compared with 47 per cent for the Coalition. However, the approval rating of Opposition Leader Bill Shorten has fallen by six points to 35 per cent, while Prime Minister Tony Abbott’s approval rating is down four points at 36 per cent. Meanwhile, 43 per cent of respondents have nominated Shorten as preferred prime minister, ahead of Abbott with 39 per cent.

CORPORATES
FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, IPSOS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION

Australian June real unemployment 9.3% – down for fourth consecutive month

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Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 2-Jul-15

A Roy Morgan Research survey on Australia’s labour market has found that the real unemployment rate was 9.3 per cent in June 2015. The number of people in the workforce now totals 12,755,000 (up 247,000 since May 2014), while the number of people who are underemployed has fallen by 59,000 in the last 12 months to 1,129,000 (8.9 per cent of the workforce). The official unemployment rate was 6.0 per cent in May 2015. Roy Morgan Research executive chairman Gary Morgan says the Federal Government must look at the abolition of Sunday and public holiday penalty rates for the tourism and retail industries, as these measures have a detrimental impact on small businesses, which are forced to close on Sundays and public holidays.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN RESEARCH LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS

Super tax reversal revealed

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 9 : 1-Jul-15

Shadow treasurer Chris Bowen says the Federal Government should release four submissions made by the Treasury to Treasurer Joe Hockey on the issue of superannuation tax reform. In late June 2015, Treasury official Ian Beckett sent a letter to the Opposition in response to a Freedom of Information request for details of the submissions. One of the submissions was made on the same day that the Opposition released its own superannuation tax proposals. The Government subsequently took such tax reform off its agenda.

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

Prosperity more at risk than politicians admit

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Original article by Jacob Greber
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 5 : 30-Jun-15

Australia’s economic growth may be headed for a "new normal" of 2.75 per cent or three per cent, according to former Treasury secretary Martin Parkinson. Speaking at a leadership forum in Canberra, Parkinson cast doubt on predictions that growth would rebound to its long-term average of 3.5 per cent. Grattan Institute CEO John Daley backed Parkinson, saying the Federal Government was assuming "an awful lot of things" will go right in its rosy predictions.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, GRATTAN INSTITUTE, INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

L-NP vote up 1% as Opposition Leader Bill Shorten under controversy for his role in the AWU ‘affair’ and caught out on a lie – however ALP would still win a Federal Election

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Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Morgan Poll Update – Page: Online : 29-Jun-15

A multi-mode Morgan Poll on Federal voting intention has found that support for the Coalition on a two-party preferred basis has risen by one per cent to 46.5 per cent. The poll, which was carried out on the weekends of 20-21 and 27-28 June 2015, also shows that the Coalition’s primary vote has risen by 1.5 per cent to 39 per cent, while the Roy Morgan Government Confidence Rating is unchanged at 98.5 points. Roy Morgan Research executive chairman Gary Morgan notes that support for the Australian Labor Party has fallen after Opposition Leader Bill Shorten admitted to lying about his support for former prime minister Julia Gillard just before she was deposed two years ago.

CORPORATES
MORGAN POLL, ROY MORGAN RESEARCH LIMITED, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, PALMER UNITED PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIAN WORKERS’ UNION-FEDERATION OF INDUSTRIAL, MANUFACTURING AND ENGINEERING EMPLOYEES, AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO TRADE UNION GOVERNANCE AND CORRUPTION, CLEANEVENT PTY LTD, SPOTLESS GROUP HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX SPO, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, ABC TV