Digital titans’ success comes at our expense

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Original article by Michael Miller
The Australian – Page: 23 & 25 : 30-Sep-19

The federal government’s response to the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission’s digital platforms inquiry must include legislative action to address the market power of technology platforms. The massive profits generated by these platforms are based on their unfair commercial exploitation of content from companies such as news publishers, and failure to address this issue will result in the loss of more jobs and valuable sources of information for many communities.

CORPORATES
NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, AUSTRALIAN COMMUNICATIONS AND MEDIA AUTHORITY

Price rises set housing up for new boom

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Original article by Sarah Turner
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 22 : 30-Sep-19

Data to be released by CoreLogic on 1 October is expected to show that house prices in Sydney and Melbourne have increased by 3.2 per cent and 3.4 per cent over the last four months. Prices rose by 1.6 per cent in Sydney and 1.4 per cent in Melbourne during August. Yarra Capital’s Tim Toohey has flagged the potential for a housing bubble in the medium-term, particularly if the Reserve Bank further eases monetary policy, while the ANZ Bank’s David Plank says regulatory intervention may be necessary if prices keep rising and there is an upturn in mortgage lending.

CORPORATES
CORELOGIC AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, YARRA CAPITAL PARTNERS PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, MORGANS FINANCIAL LIMITED, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, BANK OF AMERICA AUSTRALIA LIMITED, MERRILL LYNCH (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, BIS OXFORD ECONOMICS PTY LTD, AMP CAPITAL INVESTORS LIMITED, GOLDMAN SACHS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY

Mining earnings heading for peak

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Original article by Sarah-Jane Tasker
The Australian – Page: 17 & 20 : 30-Sep-19

Resources Minister Matt Canavan says the latest Resources and Energy Quarterly report underlines the importance of mining to Australia’s economy, noting that the sector contributed a third of GDP growth in the June 2019 quarter. He has urged lenders to continue to provide financing for resources and energy projects, at a time when local mining companies intend to increase their annual investment expenditure for the first time in six years. The report forecasts that resources and energy exports will top $282bn in 2019-20, eclipsing the record $279bn in 2018-19.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INDUSTRY, INNOVATION AND SCIENCE

News in call for curbs on big tech

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Original article by Andrew White
The Australian – Page: 1 : 30-Sep-19

News Corp Australasia executive chairman Michael Miller has called for legislative action to reign in the market power of digital platforms such as Google and Facebook. Amongst other things, he says such platforms should sign a mandatory code of conduct and be prohibited from using any publisher’s content unless they do so. Miller contends that technology platforms have been the biggest cause of damage to Australia’s media industry and Australians’ access to trusted and reliable content.

CORPORATES
NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION

$100m for farmers as dams fast-tracked

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Original article by Ean Higgins Olivia Caisley
The Australian – Page: 6 : 27-Sep-19

Prime Minister Scott Morrison will travel to the Queensland town of Dalby upon his return from the US on 27 September. Once in Dalby, he will announce that an additional 13 local government areas are to be eligible for drought assistance from the federal government. Meanwhile, with the New South Wales government being the most vocal of the states when it comes to complaining about new dam proposals being hampered by environmental roadblocks, federal Environment Minister Sussan Ley says she is working with the NSW government to make more efficient the review of dam projects under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY

NSW Premier doesn’t turn up to final vote on abortion

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Original article by Aaron Patrick
The Australian Financial Review – Page: Online : 27-Sep-19

The New South Wales Lower House approved the Abortion Law Reform Act on 26 September via a verbal vote known as "on the voices". The Act had been approved in the NSW Upper House by 26-11 on the previous day. Anti-abortion groups attacked the passage of the legislation, while its passage was welcomed by pro-abortion bodies and feminists. NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian, whose handling of the controversial legislation has seen her come under fire from many Liberal MPs, was not present in the Lower House when verbal consent was given to its passage.

CORPORATES
NEW SOUTH WALES. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET

‘One-sided and unfair’: China hardens rhetoric against Scott Morrison

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Original article by Andrew Tillett
The Australian Financial Review – Page: Online : 27-Sep-19

China’s embassy in Canberra has rejected suggestions by Prime Minister Scott Morrison that China should be regarded as a ‘developed’ nation for World Trade Organisation purposes. The embassy noted that China’s GDP per capita is 17 per cent of Australia’s GDP per capita, while the gap between its rich and poor is too great for it to lose the trade concessions it currently enjoys as a ‘developing’ nation under WTO rules. The embassy claimed Morrison was essentially repeating US grievances about China and trade.

CORPORATES
WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

Fall in job vacancies lifts rates pressure

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Original article by Michael Roddan
The Australian – Page: 2 : 27-Sep-19

Job vacancies in Australia declined by 1.9 per cent over the year to August, according to figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Private sector vacancies fell by 2.6 per cent over the period, while public sector vacancies surged 10.8 per cent. Callum Pickering from job site Indeed says there are now three people unemployed for every job vacancy, while ABS chief economist Bruce Hockman says the decline in job vacancies in the year to August was the biggest fall since February 2014. The figures increase the likelihood that the Reserve Bank will cut interest rates when it meets on 1 October.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

Lockouts to go but NSW festival laws fail

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Original article by Andrew Clennell
The Australian – Page: Online : 27-Sep-19

New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian has slammed Labor, Greens and crossbench MPs after they moved to disallow regulations governing the safety of music festivals in NSW. The Upper House move comes as a cross-parliamentary committee is expected to recommend on 30 September that lockout laws and late-night drink restrictions in Sydney’s CBD be repealed, but that restrictions in Kings Cross remain in place. Berejiklian claims the actions of the NSW Upper House MPs have put "thousands of lives at risk".

CORPORATES
NEW SOUTH WALES. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET

Digital cash grab not so bad for some

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Original article by Zoe Samios
The Australian – Page: Online : 27-Sep-19

A report released on advertising spending on 26 September revealed that digital’s share of spending has risen from nine per cent to 29 per cent since 2009. Television’s share of spending has fallen since 2009, as has news media and magazines, but radio and outdoor media have increased their share, along with digital. Commenting on the report, federal Communications Minister Paul Fletcher says the report suggests the outlook for traditional media in terms of competition from the digital sector may not be as bad as some have suggested.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS