O75 Public Administration

Hockey’s budget retreat

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Original article by Laura Tingle, Phillip Coorey, Jacob Greber
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 6 : 1-Oct-14

The Australian Government has conceded that only about $A3 billion of its proposed welfare cuts will be passed by the Senate. Measures worth $A10 billion are likely to be blocked. The Government may be forced to drop up to $A30 billion of Budget savings, threatening its promise to reduce the deficit. The Government is examining alternative savings measures that will be revealed in the mid-year budget review in December 2014

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, PALMER UNITED PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EDUCATION, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

Reality of retirement will be ‘worrying’

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Original article by James Eyers
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 19 : 1-Oct-14

AMP CEO Craig Meller has warned of the looming problems in funding retirement for Australia’s ageing population. He said that the retirement outlook for millions of Australians was uncertain. He said that the superannuation guarantee should be increased to 12 per cent as saving 9.5 per cent of earnings is not enough. Meller said that the growing costs of retirement could threaten the country’s prosperity over the next 20 to 30 years

CORPORATES
AMP LIMITED – ASX AMP, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, COMMONWEALTH FINANCIAL PLANNING LIMITED, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG

Leave RET alone, urge fund managers

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Original article by Andrew Main
The Australian – Page: 19 : 30-Sep-14

One option recommended by business leader Dick Warburton in his review of the Renewable Energy Target (RET) for the Australian Government is to reduce it from 41,000 gigawatt hours by 2020 to between 17,000 and 25,000. However the original RET is being strongly favoured by the Investor Group on Climate Change that represents some $A1trn worth of superannuation fund accounts. The lobbying body, which is chaired by Catholic Super CEO Frank Pegan, has started a public awareness campaign on the issue

CORPORATES
INVESTOR GROUP ON CLIMATE CHANGE, CATHOLIC SUPERANNUATION AND RETIREMENT FUND, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. CLIMATE CHANGE AUTHORITY, AUSTRALIANSUPER PTY LTD, AMP CAPITAL INVESTORS LIMITED, AMP LIMITED – ASX AMP

Medibank may deliver $5.7b at sale

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Original article by Jessica Gardner
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 30-Sep-14

Analysts have previously valued Medibank Private at between $A4bn and $A4.5bn. Goldman Sachs has suggested that the health insurer could potentially be worth between $A4.1bn and $A5.7bn, while Deutsche Bank values it at $A4.2bn to $A5.3bn. Watermark Funds Management’s Omkar Joshi says the Australian Government is likely to place a lower valuation on the stock in the hope that it will rise on the first day of trading on the sharemarket

CORPORATES
MEDIBANK PRIVATE LIMITED, GOLDMAN SACHS AND PARTNERS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, DEUTSCHE BANK AG, WATERMARK FUNDS MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FINANCE, MACQUARIE CAPITAL PTY LTD, NIB HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NHF, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, RAMSAY HEALTH CARE LIMITED – ASX RHC, HEALTHSCOPE LIMITED – ASX HSO

RBA asked to explain backflip on lending risks

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Original article by Christopher Joye
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 6 : 29-Sep-14

The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) in mid-2013 reduced the official cash interest rate to a record low, and said the residential real estate market was not experiencing a "bubble". However a year on the central bank has revised its stance, and now warns of a dangerous prices surge. It may even resort to using macroeconomic tools, which has sparked concern among federal Senate economics committee members Matthew Canavan and Sam Dastyari of the National Party and Australian Labor Party respectively. RBA deputy governor Philip Lowe has been asked to address the committee on the issue

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. SENATE STANDING COMMITTEE ON ECONOMICS, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS

Big business ‘shirks’ fair share of tax load

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Original article by Heath Aston, Georgia Wilkins
The Sydney Morning Herald – Page: 1 : 29-Sep-14

Trade union United Voice and the Tax Justice Network have issued a new study on the tax paid by the 200 largest listed companies in Australia. "Who Pays for Our Common Wealth?" shows that 84% of these groups pay below the supposed rate of 30%, and close to a third pay less than 10%. Tax havens are used by nearly 60% of the corporations, via subsidiaries. However Corporate Tax Association CEO Frank Drenth disputes the analysis

CORPORATES
CORPORATE TAX ASSOCIATION, TAX JUSTICE NETWORK, UNITED VOICE, GROUP OF TWENTY (G-20), STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, 21ST CENTURY FOX INCORPORATED, TOLL HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TOL, ECHO ENTERTAINMENT GROUP LIMITED – ASX EGP, THE STAR, JAMES HARDIE INDUSTRIES PLC – ASX JHX, SYDNEY AIRPORT – ASX SYD, AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE, ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT, UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY, SYDNEY, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, TAXATION INSTITUTE OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Medibank flags cost cuts after float

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Original article by Jessica Gardner, Georgia Wilkins
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 6 : 29-Sep-14

Retail investors can pre-register for the upcoming sharemarket float of Medibank Private, which is expected to be Australia’s largest IPO since QR National in 2010. The Federal Government has indicated that Medibank customers who pre-register will be given priority when shares are allocated in the IPO, although they will not be given any free shares in the health insurer. Meanwhile, Medibank CEO George Savvides says the health fund will seek to reduce costs following the IPO

CORPORATES
MEDIBANK PRIVATE LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FINANCE, AMP LIMITED – ASX AMP, NIB HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NHF, NRMA LIMITED, INSURANCE AUSTRALIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX IAG, AURIZON HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX AZJ, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, MORNINGSTAR PTY LTD, COMMUNITY AND PUBLIC SECTOR UNION

Parent training in parole plan

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Original article by Amanda Banks
The West Australian – Page: 3 : 26-Sep-14

Former Supreme Court Justice Michael Murray has proposed giving new powers to Western Australia’s Supervised Release Review Board. Under his plan, the board would be able to impose conditions on parents of young offenders who are about to be released from detention. Corrective Service Minister Joe Francis supports the plan, which now be considered by the Youth Justice Board

CORPORATES
SUPREME COURT OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA, WESTERN AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF JUSTICE, WESTERN AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF CHILD PROTECTION

$100k fees for prestige degrees are widely distorted: Sydney Uni

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Original article by Matthew Knott
The Sydney Morning Herald – Page: 2 : 26-Sep-14

The University of Sydney does not intend to introduce large fees if the higher education funding system is deregulated. Even degrees such as law and business will continue to cost less than $A100,000. The university stated in a submission to a Senate inquiry into the higher education fee system that cuts to government funding necessitate a rise in fees of 24 per cent

CORPORATES
UNIVERSITY OF SYDNEY, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, PALMER UNITED PARTY, AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EDUCATION, UNIVERSITY OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA

Budget deficit hits $48.5b

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Original article by Joanna Heath
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 9 : 26-Sep-14

The Australian Government’s May 2014 Budget had forecast that the deficit for 2013-14 would be $A49.9bn. It has now revealed that the deficit for the financial year was $A48.5bn, while Treasury notes that 2013-14 tax revenue was $A3.3bn below expectations. Treasurer Joe Hockey says returning the Budget to surplus and reducing debt are still on the Government’s agenda

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FINANCE, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA