AUSTRALIA – POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT

Explosive text messages of a political assassin

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Original article by John Ferguson
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 18-Jun-20

The crisis over Victorian Labor’s branch-stacking crisis has deepened, after details of text messages that federal MP Anthony Byrne sent to Adem Somyurek over several years were disclosed. The recordings that led to Somyurek’s downfall were made in Byrne’s electoral office; the two were once close allies, and friends of Somyurek say he cannot understand why Byrne turned against him. Amongst other things, the text messages that Byrne sent to Somyurek include derogatory comments about Labor colleagues.

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AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Albanese takes over state ALP

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Original article by Greg Brown, Geoff Chambers, Richard Ferguson
The Australian – Page: 1 & 6 : 17-Jun-20

The Australian Labor Party’s national executive has appointed Steve Bracks and Jenny Macklin as administrators of the party’s troubled Victorian branch. Federal Labor will take control of Victorian Labor for three years in the wake of the branch-stacking scandal, which resulted in Adem Somyurek being expelled from the party and the resignation of frontbenchers Robin Scott and Marlene Kairouz. Bracks and Macklin will audit all 16,000 members of Victorian Labor, amid concerns within the party that up to 4,000 members may have been ‘stacked’ in recent years.

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AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Push for national integrity commission to restart after Somyurek fall

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Original article by David Crowe
The Age – Page: Online : 17-Jun-20

Federal crossbench MPs say the branch-stacking scandal in Victoria has highlighted the need for a national anti-corruption commission. The federal government revealed plans to establish the Commonwealth Integrity Commission in 2018, although progress on the issue has since stalled amid claims that its powers would not be sufficient. Attorney-General Christian Porter has indicated that he will seek to resume negotiations with crossbenchers to establish the CIC.

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AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT

JobKeeper cash needed for schools and hospitals

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Original article by Rosie Lewis
The Australian – Page: 2 : 16-Jun-20

Restaurant & Catering Australia CEO Wes Lambert has urged the federal government to retain the JobKeeper wage subsidy scheme until at least the end of 2020. However, Prime Minister Scott Morrison has argued that retaining coronavirus stimulus measures beyond the scheduled expiration date of late September would result in less funding for essential services such as health and education. The government may introduce stimulus measures that target sectors which have been hardest hit by the economic downturn.

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RESTAURANT AND CATERING INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION OF AUSTRALIA INCORPORATED, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

Porter cuts fast-track rule on new work deals

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 9 : 12-Jun-20

Industrial Relations Minister Christian Porter has advised that a temporary change to workplace laws in response to the coronavirus has been repealed. The notice period for changes to enterprise agreements was reduced from seven days to just 24 hours in April, prompting unions to warn that it could be open to abuse. Porter says a review found no evidence that the regulation had been misused, and he stresses that the change was always intended to be temporary and is no longer needed. The Federal Court was scheduled to rule on the regulation’s validity on 12 June, following a legal challenge by the construction union.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT, SKILLS, SMALL AND FAMILY BUSINESS, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA

Rip up the China deal

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Original article by Tom Minear, Clare Armstrong
Herald Sun – Page: 15 : 12-Jun-20

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has weighed into the controversy over the Victorian Government’s decision to sign up for China’s Belt and Road Initiative. Morrison has urged Premier Daniel Andrews to withdraw the state’s support for the infrastructure plan; he says the federal government does not believe that it is in Australia’s national interests, adding that the states and territories should not take actions that are inconsistent with the federal government’s foreign policy. Andrews says his government is fully committed to the Belt and Road Initiative.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, VICTORIA. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET

Regional TV on verge of market failure

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Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 12 : 12-Jun-20

The federal government may relax the local content requirements for regional TV broadcasters’ multi-channels due to their consistent failure to meet the hours-based quotas. The Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development & Communications notes that 12 regional or remote TV stations failed to comply with the Australian content quotas in 2017. This is primarily because regional broadcasters often chose not to carry some of the secondary channels of their metropolitan affiliates.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INFRASTRUCTURE, TRANSPORT, REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND COMMUNICATIONS

Council brakes slow recovery

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Original article by Rebecca Urban, Damon Johnston
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 11-Jun-20

Federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg says local councils should fast-track development applications in order to stimulate economic activity in the post-coronavirus world. He says the state and federal governments are helping to boost the construction sector, and local governments should do so as well. It takes an average of 70 days for development applications to be approved in Victoria – well above the statutory requirement of 60 days – and this had blown out to at least 120 days for some councils prior to the pandemic. The average number of days to approve a development application in New South Wales is 84 days.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY

Protests cost economy $1bn

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Original article by Geoff Chambers, Dennis Shanahan
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 10-Jun-20

The timetable for the further easing of coronavirus lockdown restrictions may be pushed back due to the recent Black Lives Matter protests across Australia. The national cabinet meeting on 12 June had been expected to approve the easing of stage two restrictions, but the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee believes that it will take up to 14 days to determine whether the protests have caused a fresh outbreak of the virus. Meanwhile, ACTU secretary Sally McManus says the potential for a second wave of infections means that lockdown restrictions must remain in place until medical professionals advise that it is safe to lift them.

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AUSTRALIAN HEALTH PROTECTION PRINCIPAL COMMITTEE, ACTU

Asset write-off extension to aid business

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Original article by Matthew Cranston, Tom McIlroy
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 9-Jun-20

The federal government will extend its $150,000 instant asset write-off scheme for another six months. It will be accessible to companies with annual turnover of less than $500 million, which covers more than 3.5 million businesses employing over 9.7 million people. Council of Small Business Organisations CEO Peter Strong says the government has done the right thing by the small business sector in extending the scheme.

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COUNCIL OF SMALL BUSINESS ORGANISATIONS OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED