O75 Public Administration

Nimby neighbours win again as St Kilda music venue shuts up

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Original article by Rebecca Thistleton
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 1-Aug-14

Victorian Planning Minister Matthew Guy is accused of dragging his feet on new legislation to safeguard the interests of live music venues as well as real estate developers when the two clash over new residential projects and noise. The live performances sector is calling for the urgent roll-out of promised "agent of change" laws, as the Pure Pop Records space in the Melbourne inner suburb of St Kilda closes. Music Victoria CEO Patrick Donovan notes that some local government councils have issued their own rules to protect live music venues, but that city planning and noise emissions laws are a state responsibility

CORPORATES
VICTORIA. DEPT OF PLANNING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT, PURE POP RECORDS, MUSIC VICTORIA, CITY OF YARRA, WOLLONGONG CITY COUNCIL, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, CHERRY BAR

Tax relaxed on share schemes

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Original article by Fleur Anderson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 1-Aug-14

The Australian Government plans to wind back changes to the tax treatment of employee share schemes. The reforms that were introduced in 2009 require members of such schemes to pay their tax liability upfront rather than being able to defer it for up to 10 years. Start-up businesses in particular have been affected by the regime. The Government may replace it with some aspects of the employee share scheme regime that is in place in the UK

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INDUSTRY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND TRADE, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF COMMUNICATIONS, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, DELOITTE TOUCHE TOHMATSU LIMITED, LOCAL MEASURE, ONLINE MEDIA HOLDINGS PTY LTD, EMPLOYEE OWNERSHIP AUSTRALIA LIMITED

PM wavers on benefits

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 31-Jul-14

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott and Treasurer Joe Hockey have signalled their willingness to make changes to the proposed reform of unemployment benefits. The original proposal has been criticised as too harsh. Peter Strong, CEO of the Council of Small Business Organisations of Australia, said the requirement for 40 job applications per month would create an administrative nightmare

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT, COUNCIL OF SMALL BUSINESS ORGANISATIONS OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED

GPs may charge higher co-payment

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Original article by Joanna Heath
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 10 : 30-Jul-14

Stephen Duckett of the Grattan Institute says the cost of visting a GP is a deterrent for many Australians on low incomes. There are concerns that more low-income earners will avoid visiting GPs if the Federal Government’s $A7 co-payment is introduced. Richard Bartlett of the Department of Health has conceded that GPs will be able to charge a higher co-payment. He also says the fee should have no impact on the provision of medical services

CORPORATES
GRATTAN INSTITUTE, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF HEALTH, THE ROYAL AUSTRALIAN COLLEGE OF GENERAL PRACTITIONERS, AUSTRALIAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION LIMITED

ACCC chases carbon levies

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Original article by Phillip Coorey, Joanna Heath
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 5 : 30-Jul-14

The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) will crack down on about 120 organisations that fail to recompense consumers following the abolition of the carbon tax. This includes companies such as airlines and waste management groups, as well as local councils. They had generally increased prices when the tax was introduced, and the ACCC is concerned that they may try to avoid passing on savings to consumers now that tax has been scrapped

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, QANTAS AIRWAYS LIMITED – ASX QAN, VIRGIN AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX VAH, AUSTRALIAN LANDFILL OWNERS ASSOCIATION LIMITED, VEOLIA ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE ENVIRONMENT

S&P draws line in the sand on national debt

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Original article by Adam Creighton
The Australian – Page: 21 : 30-Jul-14

Credit ratings agency Standard & Poor’s (S&P) has issued its annual ratings review for 2014, voicing some concerns about the Australian economy. It noted the reliance on China’s growth, the sizeable current account deficit and negative sentiment among investor as factors, as well as the potential for a "bubble" to emerge in the residential real estate market. S&P has also warned state and federal governments that in order to retain the nation’s "AAA" status their total net debt must not exceed 30% of GDP

CORPORATES
STANDARD AND POOR’S (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD

L-NP (45.5%) increases its support after Abbott Government’s strong response to downing of Malaysian Airlines flight MH17, but still trails ALP (54.5%)

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Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Morgan Poll Update – Page: Online : 28-Jul-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 2.0 per cent to 45.5 per cent. The poll, which was carried on the weekends of 19-20 and 26-27 July 2014, also shows that support for the Australian Labor Party has fallen by 2.0 per cent to 54.5 per cent. Roy Morgan Research executive chairman Gary Morgan says the poll also shows that support for the minor parties has fallen to its lowest level since early February, and indicates that in troubled times support returns to the major parties at the expense of the minor parties

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, MALAYSIAN AIRLINE SYSTEMS

Mighty slip-up as former speaker guilty of dishonesty

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Original article by Megan Gorrey
The Sydney Morning Herald – Page: 1 & 5 : 29-Jul-14

The Australian Capital Territory Magistrates’ Court will sentence Peter Slipper on 22 September 2014. The former speaker of the federal lower house has been convicted of dishonestly using government taxi vouchers on three separate occasions in 2010. His lawyer had argued that the prosecution had failed to prove that Slipper had not been on parliamentary business at the time. Slipper had pleaded not guilty

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL TERRITORY MAGISTRATES’ COURT, CLONAKILLA WINES PTY LTD, POACHERS PANTRY, DOONKUNA ESTATE PTY LTD, YASS VALLEY WINES, SHAW ESTATE VINEYARD, GALLAGHER WINES, AUSTRALIA. DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS

Retailers ‘will lose out to Chinese’

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Original article by Blair Speedy
The Australian – Page: 18 : 29-Jul-14

Dominant supermarket chains Coles and Woolworths have been urged to raise their farmgate prices, or risk losing supply as primary producers instead export to the lucrative market in China. The warning has come from Federal Agriculture Minister Barnaby Joyce, who noted that the companies are selling white label milk for just $A1 a litre when consumers in China are prepared to pay $A7 or more. Joyce also said he fully backed a Federal Court case by the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission against Coles, over alleged unconscionable conduct in its relations with food sector suppliers

CORPORATES
WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES, COLES GROUP LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF AGRICULTURE, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, ALDI STORES SUPERMARKETS PTY LTD, NORCO CO-OPERATIVE LIMITED, MURRAY GOULBURN CO-OPERATIVE COMPANY LIMITED

Share of top 1 per cent flattens out

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Original article by Jacob Greber
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 28-Jul-14

The University of Melbourne has used tax data to estimate that Australia’s highest income-earners accounted for 7.7 per cent of the nation’s income in 2011. This has remained relatively steady since 2006, after rising in the previous two decades or so. In contrast, the so-called one per cent in the US account for nearly 20 per cent of national income, a figure that has risen significantly in the last decade. However, shadow assistant treasurer Andrew Leigh contends that income inequality in Australia is at a long-term high

CORPORATES
UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, PARIS SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS, UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE. INSTITUTE OF APPLIED ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL RESEARCH