O75 Public Administration

Hockey hits business for ‘weak’ help

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Original article by Jacob Greber, Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 7-Aug-14

Bank of America Merrill Lynch’s Saul Eslake expects the 2017-18 Budget deficit to be $A18bn if the Senate continues to oppose key measures, while he expects Australia’s net debt to rise to 16.5 per cent of GDP. Meanwhile, Treasurer Joe Hockey has defended the May 2014 Budget, arguing that Australians’ future standard of living will be adversely affected unless action on budget reform is taken now

CORPORATES
BANK OF AMERICA AUSTRALIA LIMITED, MERRILL LYNCH (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, DEMOCRATIC LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN MOTORING ENTHUSIAST PARTY, PALMER UNITED PARTY, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, THE AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND SCHOOL OF GOVERNMENT LIMITED, NEW ZEALAND. TREASURY, BUSINESS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. PARLIAMENTARY BUDGET OFFICE

Market power laws ‘ludicrous’

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Original article by Phillip Coorey, Nassim Khadem
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 6-Aug-14

The National Press Club has heard from Wesfarmers CEO Richard Goyder, also chair of the Business 20 forum advising the Australian Government. His company owns major retailers Coles and Bunnings, and he rejected plans to extend section 46 of the Australian Consumer Law to small business operators in order to protect them against market dominance by large corporations. Goyder threatened that his group’s tax payments of $A1.5bn per annum and employment of 200,000 local jobs could be reduced, if it adopted the profit shifting strategies of overseas-based rivals such as Aldi or CostCo

CORPORATES
WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES, COLES GROUP LIMITED, BUSINESS 20 (B20), GROUP OF TWENTY (G-20), AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INDUSTRY, ALDI STORES SUPERMARKETS PTY LTD, COSTCO WHOLESALE AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, WESFARMERS BUNNINGS LIMITED, NATIONAL PRESS CLUB (AUSTRALIA), BORAL LIMITED – ASX BLD, WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, HIGH COURT OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, BANK FOR INTERNATIONAL SETTLEMENTS. BASEL COMMITTEE ON BANKING SUPERVISION

Drop in unemployment figures mask the job losses recorded in July – Australian workforce in contraction

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Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 5-Aug-14

A Roy Morgan Research survey on Australia’s labour market has found that the real unemployment rate fell by 0.4 per cent to 10.2 per cent in July 2014. The workforce fell by 141,000 to 12,367,000 in total, and the number of people who were underemployed fell by 109,000 to 8.7 per cent. The nation’s official unemployment rate was six per cent in June. Roy Morgan Research executive chairman Gary Morgan notes that July was the 26th straight month in which more than one million people were unemployed, as well as the 32nd successive month in which more than two million people have been either unemployed or underemployed

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN RESEARCH LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY

Goldminers unite against WA royalty rise

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Original article by Barry FitzGerald
The Australian – Page: 22 : 6-Aug-14

The Western Australian (WA) Government signalled in its 2014-15 Budget papers that it may review the mining royalties regime for gold tenements in the state. This has sparked fears of a major increase, possibly from the current 2.5% to 5%, among producers. The new Gold Royalties Response Group lobbying alliance has been set up by companies including Doray Minerals, Northern Star Resources, Norton Gold Fields, Regis Resources, Newmont Mining and Silver Lake Resources. They have launched a radio and social media advertising campaign to draw attention to the issue, at the "Diggers & Dealers" forum in Kalgoorlie in early August 2014

CORPORATES
SILVER LAKE RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX SLR, DORAY MINERALS LIMITED – ASX DRM, NORTHERN STAR RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX NST, NORTON GOLD FIELDS LIMITED – ASX NGF, REGIS RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX RRL, NEWMONT MINING CORPORATION, MINERALS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, ASSOCIATION OF MINING AND EXPLORATION COMPANIES, DIGGERS AND DEALERS FORUM, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Map out roadwork: Transurban

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Original article by Damon Kitney, Mitchell Neems
The Australian – Page: 23 : 6-Aug-14

Toll roads operator Transurban has announced a 2013-14 full-year net profit increase of 44.5% to $A252.2m. The 12-month distribution is $A0.35, and a forecast of $A0.39 for the 2014-15 payout has also been confirmed. On 5 August 2014 the stock closed 0.9% lower at $A7.58. CEO Scott Charlton said the company applauded pledges by the State Governments of New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland to improve their roads infrastructure, but it was also calling for more co-ordination that involved the Federal Government as well

CORPORATES
TRANSURBAN GROUP LIMITED – ASX TCL, TRANSURBAN CITY LINK LIMITED, WESTCONNEX, HILLS MOTORWAY GROUP LIMITED, QUEENSLAND MOTORWAYS LIMITED, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, BANK OF AMERICA CORPORATION, MERRILL LYNCH (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, MACQUARIE EQUITIES LIMITED, MACQUARIE BANK LIMITED – ASX MBL

Officer admits cash for contracts scam

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Original article by Adam Carey
The Age – Page: 8 : 5-Aug-14

A project officer with Public Transport Victoria made a surprising admission at the first public hearing of Victoria’s Independent Broad-Based Anti-Corruption Commission. He conceded that he had accepted cash and gifts in exchange for giving contracts worth $A25 million to businesses he established with a former public servant. He said he was surprised that his fraudulent activities were not discovered earlier

CORPORATES
VICTORIA. INDEPENDENT BROAD-BASED ANTI-CORRUPTION COMMISSION, PUBLIC TRANSPORT VICTORIA (PTV)

OVGA avoids key debate

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Original article by Larry Schlesinger
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 38 : 5-Aug-14

The Office of the Victorian Government Architect (OVGA) supports the inclusion of mandatory apartment design standards in the state’s planning system. The OVGA issued a statement on the design standards on 4 August 2014. The minimum size of apartments should be 37 square metres. There is no mention of housing affordability in the statement, which the OVGA believes to be a "separate issue"

CORPORATES
OFFICE OF THE VICTORIAN GOVERNMENT ARCHITECT, PROPERTY COUNCIL OF VICTORIA, CITY OF MELBOURNE, VICTORIA. DEPT OF PLANNING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT

Banks may have to spin off trading

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Original article by John Kehoe, Jonathan Shapiro
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 10 : 4-Aug-14

Opinion is divided about the merits of restructuring banks to separate their retail and commercial banking arms from divisions such as insurance and funds management. David Murray, who is chairing the Australian Government’s inquiry into the financial system, has suggested that so-called "ring-fencing" should be examined in order to protect banks that are deemed "too big to fail". Similar laws have been introduced in the US and the UK, but Australian Bankers’ Association CEO Steve Munchenberg questions whether such reforms are needed in Australia

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BANKERS’ ASSOCIATION, PRICEWATERHOUSECOOPERS AUSTRALIA (INTERNATIONAL) PTY LTD, GREAT BRITAIN. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, JP MORGAN AND COMPANY INCORPORATED, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, AUSTRALIA. FUTURE FUND MANAGEMENT AGENCY, BANK FOR INTERNATIONAL SETTLEMENTS. BASEL COMMITTEE ON BANKING SUPERVISION, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, UNITED STATES. FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, SUNCORP GROUP LIMITED – ASX SUN, MOODY’S INVESTORS SERVICE INCORPORATED

Crackdown on net piracy

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Original article by Dominic White
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 36 : 4-Aug-14

The Australian Government plans to hold a forum with the CEOs of media groups and ISPs on the issue of illegal downloading of copyrighted material. It follows the release of a discussion paper by Attorney-General George Brandis and Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull, which examines options for combating the problem of internet piracy. The forum is likely to be held later in August 2014

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF COMMUNICATIONS, HIGH COURT OF AUSTRALIA, IINET LIMITED – ASX IIN, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, RADIO NATIONAL AUSTRALIA, FREE TV AUSTRALIA LIMITED

AMA demand could cost $2b

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Original article by Joanna Heath, Jacob Greber
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 4-Aug-14

The Australian Medical Association (AMA) has proposed a compromise regarding the Federal Government’s Medicare co-payment. The AMA wants pensioners to be excluded from the $A7 co-payment regime, while it continues to oppose the Government’s plan to reduce the Medicare rebate for GPs. The Government’s May 2014 Budget forecast that these measures would result in cost savings of about $A3.5bn, but this would be slashed by up to $A2bn if it agrees to the AMA’s proposals

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF HEALTH, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, PALMER UNITED PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA