Rebel Labor MP drops red shirts bombshell

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Original article by Shannon Deery, Mitch Clarke, Kieran Rooney, Rhiannon Tuffield
Herald Sun – Page: Online : 10-Feb-22

Victoria’s upper house has passed Adem Somyurek’s motion to have Labor’s ‘Red Shirts’ scandal referred to the state’s Ombudsman for further investigation. The motion was passed after Labor MP Kaushaliya Vaghela joined the Opposition and the 12 crossbenchers in voting for a new probe into the $388,000 taxpayer rort. Vaghela is the first Labor MP to ‘cross the floor’ since the party won office in 2014; she is a close ally of Somyurek, and could be expelled by Labor. She says branch-stacking is endemic within Labor, and an investigation into the Socialist Left faction of Premier Daniel Andrews and other groups is needed.

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AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, VICTORIA. OFFICE OF THE OMBUDSMAN, VICTORIA. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET

Fortescue plans huge wind and solar farm

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Original article by Nick Evans
The Australian – Page: 18 : 10-Feb-22

Fortescue Metals Group’s clean energy arm has revealed plans to build a wind and solar energy farm to provide renewable energy for the Eliwana iron ore mine in the Pilbara. The proposed renewable energy hub will be partially built on the Uaroo pastoral station, which is owned by a subsidiary of Andrew Forrest’s private investment arm, Tattarang. Fortescue Future Industries plans to commence work on the project as soon as it receives environmental approval from the Western Australian government.

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FORTESCUE FUTURE INDUSTRIES PTY LTD, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, TATTARANG PTY LTD

Court backs contract jobs

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 9 : 10-Feb-22

University of Adelaide law professor Andrew Stewart says a landmark High Court decision is a "big win" for companies which contend that their workers are independent contractors rather than employees. The court has ruled that two truck drivers who had worked exclusively for a lighting company for nearly four decades via a partnership arrangement are not employees, and are therefore not entitled to minimum pay and conditions. A majority of the court adopted a strict approach that relied almost solely on the terms of the contract itself. However, in a separate judgment the court has ruled that a British backpacker was an employee rather than a contractor, because his contract gave his construction labour hire firm the right to decide who he could work for.

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HIGH COURT OF AUSTRALIA, UNIVERSITY OF ADELAIDE

Morrison’s controversial religious bill passes the lower house

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Original article by Lisa Visentin, Latika Bourke
The Sydney Morning Herald – Page: Online : 10-Feb-22

The federal government’s religious discrimination bill will proceed to the Senate, after it was passed by the lower house at 4am on Thursday following more than 10 hours of debate. However, five Liberal MPs crossed the floor to vote with Labor in blocking changes to the Sex Discrimination Act that would have made it lawful to expel transgender students from religious schools. Several Liberal backbenchers also supported Labor’s proposed amendment to the ‘statement of belief’ provisions of the religious discrimination bill; the amendment was defeated with the deciding vote of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Andrew Wallace.

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LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

ASIO foils spy plot to interfere with election

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Original article by Simon Benson
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 10-Feb-22

The Australian Security Intelligence Organisation’s director-general Mike Burgess says there have been attempts at foreign interference at all levels of government and in all states and territories. He has revealed that ASIO recently thwarted a foreign interference plot in the lead-up to an election, which is believed to have been the upcoming federal election. This plot involved a wealthy "agent of interference" with direct connections with a foreign government and its intelligence agencies; this person, whom Burgess referred to as "the puppeteer", had attempted to finance the campaigns of political candidates who were deemed to be susceptible to ‘inducements and cultivation’.

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AUSTRALIAN SECURITY INTELLIGENCE ORGANISATION

CBA unveils $2bn share buyback

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Original article by Joyce Moullakis
The Australian – Page: 13 & 24 : 10-Feb-22

The Commonwealth Bank of Australia has posted a 2021-22 interim cash profit of $4.75bn, which is 23 per cent higher than previously. The result was boosted by strong growth in mortgage and business loans and a decline in bad debts. However, the bank’s net interest margin fell by 17 basis points to 1.92 per cent. Shareholders will receive a fully franked interim dividend of $1.75 per share, while CBA will repurchase $2bn worth of its shares. CEO Matt Comyn has flagged the possibility of returning more capital to shareholders.

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COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA

Chinese hackers attack local media group

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Original article by Ben Packham
The Australian – Page: 2 : 10-Feb-22

Cybersecurity firm CyberCX has revealed that a major Australian media company was targeted by hackers on 10 December, immediately after the ‘Log4j’ vulnerability was exposed. CyberCX’s chief strategy officer Alastair MacGibbon says the hackers used techniques that are consistent with Chinese ‘state-sponsored actors’. He adds that media companies are attractive targets for such hackers because they receive and analyse information that has intelligence value. The media company has not been identified, although it is not News Corp; it is also not believed to be Nine Entertainment, which was targeted by a cyber attack in March 2021.

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CYBERCX, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC

Roy Morgan Business Confidence plunges 18.7pts to 101.5 in January as Omicron variant sweeps Australia

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 10-Feb-22

In January 2022, Roy Morgan Business Confidence fell by 18.7pts (-15.6%) to 101.5. This is the biggest monthly plunge in the index in points during the pandemic and the largest fall in percentage terms since April 2020, when the index dropped 18.2pts (-19.1%). The plunge in January came as the Omicron variant swept Australia causing the infection of over 2 million Australians and forcing millions more into isolation for being close contacts of confirmed cases. The disruption to businesses caused problems throughout the economy and led to breakdowns in supply chains which are only now being gradually rectified. On a State-based level there were monthly decreases across the board in January; this was led by NSW, down 17.1pts (-13.7%) to 107.6. Despite the large fall in January, Business Confidence remains marginally in positive territory above the neutral level of 100. However, Business Confidence has fallen to the same level it was at during the middle of the ‘Delta wave’ in August 2021 (101.5) and is now well below the long-term average of 113.7.

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The ABC’s budget hasn’t been restored – it’s still facing $1.2 billion in losses over a decade

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Original article by Alexandra Wake, Michael Ward
The New Daily – Page: Online : 10-Feb-22

The ABC’s management has welcomed the federal government’s new three-year funding package and the abolition of the budget indexation freeze that was imposed in 2018. The ABC will receive $3.284bn over the three years from 2022-23, including $45.8m to continue its enhanced news gathering program for local public interest journalism in regional areas. However, analysis shows that the ABC’s funding has been cut by $783m in total since 2014, and it faces accumulated funding cuts of $1.201bn over the period from 2014-15 to 2024-25.

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AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION

NZ’s new Opposition Leader Christopher Luxon boosts support for National to 35%; now ahead of Labour on 33%

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 9-Feb-22

Support for New Zealand’s Labour/Greens government was down 0.5% points to 43.5% in January, the fourth straight month of declines for the ‘coalition’ government. Support for the Labour Party was down 2.5% points to 33% (the lowest since Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern took office in late 2017), while support for the Greens increased 2% points to 10.5%. In contrast, support for a potential National/Act NZ coalition government is now at 48.5%. Support for the National Party rose 3.5% points to 35%; it has increased 8.5% points since Christopher Luxon took over the leadership at the end of November 2021 and has now overtaken Labour for the first time since October 2019. However, support for Act NZ fell 5% points to 13.5%, to its lowest since August 2021. Support for the Maori Party increased 1.5% points to 2.5%. A small minority of 5.5% of electors support other minor parties outside Parliament, with support for New Zealand First up 0.5% points to 2.5%, The Opportunities Party up 0.5% points to 1.5% and support for the New Conservative Party up 0.5% points to 1% in January. This latest New Zealand Roy Morgan Poll on voting intention was conducted by telephone – both landline and mobile – with a New Zealand-wide cross-section of 951 electors during January.

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ROY MORGAN LIMITED, MORGAN POLL, LABOUR PARTY (NEW ZEALAND), GREEN PARTY OF AOTEAROA NEW ZEALAND, NATIONAL PARTY OF NEW ZEALAND, ACT NEW ZEALAND, THE MAORI PARTY