ClubsNSW whistleblower reveals the alarming scale of money laundering in pokies rooms at local clubs and pubs

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Original article by Steve Cannane, Kyle Taylor, Clare Blumer
abc.net au – Page: Online : 14-Feb-20

Independent federal MP Andrew Wilkie has claimed that up to 95 per cent of clubs in New South Wales are not complying with anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism finance laws. He says this means they are operating illegally, and that he got this information from a ClubsNSW document that was provided to him by a whistleblower. Troy Stolz, a former ClubsNSW AML/CTF compliance auditor, claims that he was the source of the document. He says that money laundering through poker machines is rife in pubs and clubs across Australia. A ClubsNSW spokesperson has accused Wilkie of "anti-club hysteria".

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CLUBS NSW PTY LTD

South32 calls for clear guidance on scope 3

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 23 : 14-Feb-20

Diversified miner South32 has posted a 2019-20 interim net profit of $US99m, which is 84 per cent lower than previously. The group’s underlying earnings fell 80 per cent to $US131m and revenue was down 16 per cent due to lower prices for its key commodities. CEO Graham Kerr says South32’s focus is on Scope 1 carbon emissions at present, but he argues that all companies will eventually need to address their Scope 3 emissions. He adds that governments must clarify how planning approvals will take Scope 3 emissions into account.

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SOUTH32 LIMITED – ASX S32

Scorched land safe from fires for years

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Original article by Kieran Gair
The Australian – Page: 2 : 14-Feb-20

The CSIRO estimates that some 10 million hectares of land has been razed during the 2019-20 bushfire season. This exceeds the combined area burnt in the 2009 Black Saturday and 1983 Ash Wednesday bushfires. Landscape ecologist Grant Williamson says the massive destruction of plant life in the bushfire zones means there will be no danger of fires in these areas for at least four years, as there is nothing left to burn. Meanwhile, the Rural Fire Service has confirmed that all bushfires in New South Wales have been contained.

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CSIRO, UNIVERSITY OF TASMANIA, NEW SOUTH WALES RURAL FIRE SERVICE

NAB may delay MLC split after sound result

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Original article by Richard Gluyas
The Australian – Page: 23 : 14-Feb-20

A trading update from National Australia Bank shows that it booked a cash profit of $1.65bn for the first quarter of its financial year. This is one per cent higher than the quarterly average for the second half of fiscal 2019. Revenue increased by less than one per cent for the quarter, while expenses were three per cent higher. Meanwhile, NAB has signalled that the proposed demerger of its MLC wealth management could be postponed due to the challenging business conditions at present.

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NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, MLC LIMITED

Age Pension for all beats hike in super

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Original article by Adam Creighton
The Australian – Page: 2 : 13-Feb-20

Mercer has used a submission to the federal government’s review of the retirement income system to call for the superannuation guarantee to remain at 9.5 per cent and to abolish means-testing for the age pension. The super guarantee is legislated to be progressively increase to 12 per cent by 2025, and some Coalition MPs have also called for the increase to be scrapped. Michael Littlewood, who helped design New Zealand’s retirement system, says there are major problems with Australia’s retirement system.

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MERCER INVESTMENTS PTY LTD

Coalition seeks to sidestep high court ruling that Aboriginal non-citizens can’t be deported

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Original article by Paul Karp, Calla Wahlquist
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 13-Feb-20

Attorney-General Christian Porter has indicated that the federal government may legislate to override the High Court’s majority decision that non-citizens of indigenous descent cannot be deported. Porter says the High Court ruling has implications for the government’s policy of deporting people who are convicted of serious crimes while in Australia on a visa. Legal experts have stated that it is too soon to determine the broader implications of the judgment.

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AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT, HIGH COURT OF AUSTRALIA

CSL keeps pumping up the profit

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Original article by Jared Lynch
The Australian – Page: 17 & 27 : 13-Feb-20

CSL has posted a 2019-20 interim net profit of $US1.248bn, which is eight per cent higher than previously. Sales rose by 8.4 per cent to $US4.7bn, with sales of its immunoglobulin products rising by 26 per cent to $US1.985bn. The biotechnology group expects its full-year profit to be within the range of $US2.1bn to $US2.17bn. CEO Paul Perreault says none of the company’s employees in Wuhan have been infected by the coronavirus and the company has not yet been impacted by the outbreak.

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CSL LIMITED – ASX CSL

Virus slows Rio Tinto copper sales

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 13-Feb-20

The Oyu Tolgoi copper mine is located in the Khanbogd province, where the Mongolian government has declared a state of emergency due to the coronavirus. Rio Tinto has advised that Mongolia’s efforts to contain the virus’s spread will result in shipments of copper concentrate being delayed. The mine’s output is usually shipped across the border to China via trucks. BHP also recently advised that its copper shipments to China may be delayed, while OZ Mineral has indicated that it has not yet been impacted by the coronavirus outbreak.

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RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP, OZ MINERALS LIMITED – ASX OZL

Travel bans set to knock $6bn from economy

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Original article by Richard Ferguson
The Australian – Page: 7 : 13-Feb-20

Investment bank UBS expects Australia to record negative GDP growth in the March quarter, due to the introduction of travel bans in response to the coronavirus. UBS economist George Tharenou warns that annual growth could fall by about 0.9 per cent, which equates to a $6bn economic hit. The federal government’s national security committee will shortly decide whether to extend the ban on people travelling to Australia from mainland China; the ban has affected sectors such as education, tourism and retailing.

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UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD

Virus may rank among worst

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Original article by Natasha Robinson
The Australian – Page: 7 : 13-Feb-20

The death toll from the coronavirus in mainland China has risen to 1,113, and more than 44,000 people across the nation have been diagnosed with the respiratory illness. Meanwhile, epidemiologists at the Imperial College London have estimated that the new virus will kill one per cent of people who contract it. In contrast, World Health Organization figures show that seasonal influenza kills about 0.13 per cent of sufferers. Professor Neil Ferguson of the Imperial College says the coronavirus may prove to be as bad as the major influenza pandemics of the 20th century

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IMPERIAL COLLEGE, WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION