O75 Public Administration

Petch challenges graft findings

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Original article by Leesha McKenny
The Sydney Morning Herald – Page: 14 : 23-Oct-14

Former Ryde City Council mayor Ivan Petch wants the Supreme Court of New South Wales to overturn an Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) ruling that he engaged in corrupt conduct. Amongst other things, ICAC found that he tried to improperly influence the council’s former manager and deliberately disclosed confidential information. Petch was suspended from the city council in mid-2014

CORPORATES
RYDE CITY COUNCIL, NEW SOUTH WALES. INDEPENDENT COMMISSION AGAINST CORRUPTION, SUPREME COURT OF NEW SOUTH WALES

Miners see progress but call for more cuts to red tape

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Original article by Annabel Hepworth
The Australian – Page: 21 : 23-Oct-14

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott and parliamentary secretary for deregulation Josh Frydenberg on 22 October 2014 unveiled a move to abolish 7,000-plus pages of unnecessary legislation, in a further bid by the Government to reduce "red tape". However the Minerals Council of Australia, while welcoming the initiative, also issued a report that outlines areas where more reforms are still needed. These include industrial relations, environmental approvals and rules governing cabotage. It notes that from late 2007 to mid-2013 only 297 ­federal acts were repealed but 874 new ones rolled out

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, MINERALS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. PRODUCTIVITY COMMISSION, THE AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY GROUP

‘Outbreak of commonsense’ may save smelter

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Original article by Chip Le Grand
The Australian – Page: 1 : 23-Oct-14

Aluminium producer Alcoa in early 2014 announced the closure of the Point Henry smelter operation in Geelong. This sparked concerns that its other facility, at Portland, would also be shut once an electricity supply deal ends in November 2016. However plant manager Peter Chellis has now welcomed an announcement by Federal Industry Minister Ian Macfarlane that he wants to exempt the smelter from the renewable energy target. This is estimated to bring annual cost savings of about $A10m, and may help secure the jobs of 540 staff and 180 contractors

CORPORATES
ALCOA INCORPORATED – ASX AAI, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INDUSTRY, AUSTRALIAN WORKERS’ UNION-FEDERATION OF INDUSTRIAL, MANUFACTURING AND ENGINEERING EMPLOYEES, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN ALUMINIUM COUNCIL LIMITED

Anger over ads at public expense

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Original article by Richard Willingham
The Age – Page: 12 : 23-Oct-14

The Victorian Government has been criticised over advertisements that promote its commitment to creating 200,000 jobs if it wins the 2014 state election. The Opposition’s Martin Pakula describes the ad as "blatantly" political, but Premier Denis Napthine says it is about government business rather than political advertising. The Coalition itself had been critical of the Australian Labor Party’s expenditure on government advertising when it was in office

CORPORATES
VICTORIA. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA

Business backs final push for TPP

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Original article by John Kerin
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 23-Oct-14

Australian business organisations have issued a joint statement in which they stress the importance of forming the Trans-Pacific Partnership. Trade ministers of 12 countries in the Asia Pacific region will discuss the matter at a meeting in Sydney, starting on 24 October 2014. The Business Council of Australia, the Australian chapter of the American Chamber of Commerce, and the US Chamber of Commerce say in the statement that the trade bloc will create jobs

CORPORATES
BUSINESS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE IN AUSTRALIA, AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND TRADE, UNITED STATES CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, TRANS-PACIFIC PARTNERSHIP

Tackle Telstra or we all pay, says Optus boss

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Original article by Mitchell Bingemann
The Australian – Page: 23 : 22-Oct-14

Dominant Australian telco Telstra will gain some $A90bn by 2045 from its role in the national broadband network. Paul O’Sullivan, CEO of main rival Singtel Optus, is calling on the Federal Government to impose rules on Telstra regarding how the funds can be used. He also wants the telco to be separated into wholesale and retail businesses, and argues that failure to do so will erode competition as well as jeopardise investment by groups such as the Singapore-based parent of Optus. The current infrastructure spending of Optus worth up to $A1.2bn annually will fall if its fixed-line operations suffer a further decline

CORPORATES
TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, SINGAPORE TELECOMMUNICATIONS LIMITED – ASX SGT, SINGTEL OPTUS PTY LTD, IINET LIMITED – ASX IIN, TPG TELECOM LIMITED – ASX TPM, NBN CO LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, FRONTIER ECONOMICS PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF COMMUNICATIONS, BT PLC

China pact sees miners duck tariffs

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Original article by Sid Maher, Scott Murdoch
The Australian – Page: 5 : 22-Oct-14

The Chinese Government recently declared new tariffs of 3% and 6% on imports of metallurgical and thermal coal respectively. However, Australian producers will be spared the measure, as Trade Minister Andrew Robb has negotiated a zero tariff in the talks on a new free-trade agreement between the two nations. Meanwhile Prime Minister Tony Abbott is being criticised by some of his Coalition MPs over failing to roll out a promised tightening of foreign investment limits in the agricultural sector

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND TRADE, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIA. FOREIGN INVESTMENT REVIEW BOARD, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, GROUP OF TWENTY (G-20), WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION, ASIA-PACIFIC ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION, CHINA. MINISTRY OF FINANCE

Tide of regulation is still coming in, directors warn

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Original article by Annabel Hepworth, Andrew White
The Australian – Page: 23 : 21-Oct-14

A business leaders’ forum has heard that despite recent positive efforts by the Australian Government, the burden of excessive regulation is still increasing. Among the examples cited was the likely tightening of capital requirements for banks after the financial system inquiry hands down its report. It was also noted that many smaller companies are better served by abandoning a sharemarket listing and instead operating in the less restrictive privately-held sector. However others argued that corporate boards must adapt to changing values and expectations to remain relevant in modern society

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. FINANCIAL REPORTING COUNCIL, AGL ENERGY LIMITED – ASX AGK, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, EVANS AND PECK PTY LTD, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, AUSTRALIAN INSTITUTE OF COMPANY DIRECTORS, BANK FOR INTERNATIONAL SETTLEMENTS. BASEL COMMITTEE ON BANKING SUPERVISION, INSURANCE AUSTRALIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX IAG, COCHLEAR LIMITED – ASX COH, BEYOND BANK AUSTRALIA, COMMUNITY CPS AUSTRALIA LIMITED, EQUITY TRUSTEES LIMITED – ASX EQT, GROUP OF TWENTY (G-20), ARRIUM LIMITED – ASX ARI, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. CORPORATIONS AND MARKETS ADVISORY COMMITTEE

WA plan allows use of dead man’s sperm

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Original article by Kate Emery
The West Australian – Page: 7 : 21-Oct-14

The Western Australian Government plans to introduce reforms which will allow sperm to be used posthumously to enable a dead man’s partner to conceive. However, Health Minister Kim Hames has indicated that use of harvested sperm will only be permitted if the man gave permission to do so before his death. New South Wales and Victoria already have laws governing the use of sperm after death

CORPORATES
WESTERN AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF HEALTH, WESTERN AUSTRALIAN REPRODUCTIVE TECHNOLOGY COUNCIL

L-NP gains ground on ALP after Abbott threatens to ‘shirt-front’ Putin at G20

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Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Morgan Poll Update – Page: Online : 20-Oct-14

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 48 per cent. The poll, which was carried out on the weekends of 11-12 and 18-19 October 2014, also shows that support for the Australian Labor Party has fallen by one per cent to 52 per cent. Roy Morgan Research executive chairman Gary Morgan says Labor’s lead is the narrowest in six months, after Prime Minister Tony Abbott promised to "shirt-front" Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Group of 20 Leaders’ summit in Brisbane in November

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 FINANCE, GROUP OF TWENTY (G-20), AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND TRADE, MALAYSIAN AIRLINE SYSTEMS